Department for Transport

Bus Services: Finance

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether an impact assessment has been produced regarding the withdrawal of Bus Recovery Grant funding on bus companies.

Trudy Harrison: Throughout the pandemic, the Government has provided unprecedented levels of financial support to the bus sector, with over £1.5bn in emergency funding and an additional £226.5m in recovery funding. The Department continues to work closely with the bus sector to assess its financial needs. Officials are meeting regularly with bus operator and local authority representatives to understand the implications of the Bus Recovery Grant ending in April 2022 and are actively exploring the case for any extension to funding. To further assist the sector in the short term, we are providing an additional £29m uplift to Bus Recovery Grant claimants this financial year.

Menston Station: Disability

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the improvements at Menston railway station under the Access For All scheme will be carried out.

Wendy Morton: The project at Menston station is currently at detailed design phase to provide a new step-free accessible route and tactile paving, with works anticipated to be completed in 2023.

Railways: Skilled Workers

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has plans to use the 200th anniversary of the modern railway in 2025 to focus on the future skills required in the railway industry.

Wendy Morton: The 200 year anniversary is a nationally important moment to mark and celebrate. The DfT will work with the whole industry to make this a special event for workers and passengers alike. We are already working with the rail industry on future skills plans which will enable them to deliver a railway that is fit for the future. One of the commitments of the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail is to create a new joined-up, cross sector training and skills offer which will support people at every career stage to develop skills and bring in experience from outside the rail sector.

Great British Railways

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what criteria is being used to decide the headquarters of the Great British Railways organisation.

Wendy Morton: A competition to select a national headquarters for Great British Railways, to be based outside of London, ensuring skilled jobs, investment and economic benefits are focused nationwide, has now been launched.Six selection criteria will be used to inform, support and complete the selection process. These will be:Alignment to Levelling Up objectivesConnected and easy to get toOpportunities for Great British RailwaysRailway heritage and links to the networkValue for moneyPublic supportThe GBR transition team will shortlist the best applications in May, after which a public vote will help determine the winning location.More details on each of the criteria are given within the ‘Guidance to Applicants’ on the GBRTT website, available at the following link.www.gbrtt.co.uk/hq

Railways: Travel Information

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department spent on producing the video announcing the removal of unnecessary train announcements.

Andrew Stephenson: The promotional film was produced in-house.

Brighton Main Line: Fares

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 28 June 2021 to Question 19564, if he will make it his policy to make available a flexible season ticket that is significantly better value than single tickets with a network card for commuters travelling from Brighton to London and back in a day; and if he will make a statement.

Wendy Morton: The flexible season ticket is a national product, priced to provide better value and convenience for commuters travelling two to three days a week, mainly at peak times. The Network Railcard is not valid in the peak, Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays), therefore it is not available for peak-time commuting. Passengers are encouraged to consider which product best suits their journey and travel patterns.

Airports: 5G

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders on BA flight cancellations to and from the US in response to safety concerns on 5G rollout near airports.

Robert Courts: The immediate cause of BA flight cancellations has been resolved by the issuance of Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOC) by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) advising that their equipment is unaffected and safe.The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) are leading on assessing any risks from the implementation of the 5G network on aviation safety, in conjunction with MOD, OFCOM, and industry stakeholders. They have not identified any confirmed safety risks to the global aviation system which require additional safety measures in the UK. The DfT is engaged with the US FAA and IAG (the parent company of BA), as well as the International Air Transport Association and the EU, with a view to developing a long-term solution in the US not reliant on AMOC. The DFT and CAA will continue working with all UK stakeholders to explore lessons for the UK rollout of 5G.

Railways: East Surrey

Claire Coutinho: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that rail services between East Surrey constituency and London are restored to pre-covid-19 outbreak levels as soon as possible.

Wendy Morton: The Department continues to work closely with Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) as they adjust its timetable to meet the demand for travel and to mitigate the impact of staff absences on rail services.Direct Southern weekday services between Uckfield and London Bridge, and East Grinstead and London Victoria will recommence from 21 February.Currently, GTR are running services between Uckfield and East Croydon, with connections available from East Croydon for onward travel to London Bridge and from Monday 10 January, connections were provided to London Victoria. East Grinstead services are currently being redirected to London Bridge.GTR’s new timetable will be delivered towards the end of February, providing more services in your constituency. These plans are currently being finalised and an update will be sent to stakeholders such as yourself by 11 February.Department officials continue to work closely with GTR to ensure a reliable and punctual service is delivered as passengers return to the network. GTR has informed the Department that the provision of services will remain under active review, adjusting to changes in passenger demand as we move out of the pandemic.

Bus Services: Finance

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the amount of Bus Recovery Grant funding issued in (a) England, (b) Oxfordshire and (c) each local authority in Oxfordshire.

Trudy Harrison: The Bus Recovery Grant is a £226.5m scheme to support bus operators and Local Transport Authorities in England. Most of the funding available will be provided to commercial operators to support services, including those operating within Oxfordshire. The Department cannot provide a breakdown of the level of funding provided to operators in each area due to information being commercially sensitive.I refer the Hon Member to a previous answer UIN 86153 which provides the Bus Recovery Grant funding allocated to Local Transport Authorities.

Bus Services: Finance

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders on extending the Bus Recovery Grant to (a) 1 October 2022 and (b) 31 December 2022.

Trudy Harrison: Throughout the pandemic, the Department has worked closely with the bus sector to assess its financial needs. Officials are meeting regularly with bus operator and local authority representatives to understand the implications of the Bus Recovery Grant ending in April 2022 and are actively exploring the case for an extension of funding.

Bus Services: Darlington

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to encourage passengers back onto local bus services in Darlington.

Trudy Harrison: The Government’s National Bus Strategy explains how we will make buses more frequent, more reliable, easier to understand and use, better co-ordinated and cheaper. Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs) are required to include targets for passenger growth and customer satisfaction. Tees Valley’s BSIP, which covers Darlington, has been received by the Department and is being reviewed.The Government has provided essential support to the bus industry throughout the pandemic to keep services running and is committed to seeing the bus sector return to financial sustainability. However, we recognise the ongoing challenges faced by operators and Local Transport Authorities to maintain services. The Department is working with the sector to understand how these might impact services after Covid recovery funding ends and what further action might be needed.

Minibuses

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of minibuses to the accessibility of transport in the UK.

Wendy Morton: The Government has funded 17 demand responsive transport (DRT) pilots in 15 local authorities under the Rural Mobility Fund to evaluate how smaller vehicles and DRT can be used to improve accessibility. The pilots seek to provide real-world experience and data about how different DRT models work and provide an opportunity to better understand the challenges associated with introducing DRT in rural and suburban settings.

Minibuses

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the ability of the national minibus fleet to meet national passenger demand for minibus services.

Trudy Harrison: No specific assessment has been made.

Roundabouts: Safety

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department produces a list of the most dangerous roundabouts in England.

Trudy Harrison: The Department does not produce a list of the most dangerous roundabouts in England.

Vehicle Number Plates

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what exemptions exist for historic and classic vehicles with regard to the use of GB national identifier badges mounted on plates integral to a car's chassis when driving overseas.

Trudy Harrison: The UK is party to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic which requires every motor vehicle in international traffic to display the distinguishing sign, also known as the national identifier, of the State in which it is registered. Since 28 September 2021, the national identifier for vehicles registered in the United Kingdom has been the letters UK. The Convention does not make provision for exemptions to this. Owners of historic and classic vehicles who do not wish to change the appearance of their vehicle may prefer to display removable magnetic ‘UK’ identifiers for use when driving overseas.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Standards

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will provide the latest performance statistics for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency against each of the targets given in sections 1.1 to 1.4 of DVLA's Business Plan for 2021-22.

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of online applications for a driving licence, where further information on the applicant's medical condition is required from a GP or other health professional, have been completed within three working days for the period since 1 April 2021.

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of postal applications for a driving licence, where further information on the applicant's medical condition is required from a GP or other health professional, have been completed within ten working days for the period since 1 April 2021.

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of postal applications for a vocational driving licence, where further information on the applicant's medical condition is required from a GP or other health professional, have been completed within ten working days for the period since 1 April 2021.

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of postal applications for a driving licence, where further information on the applicant's medical condition is required from a GP or other health professional, have been completed within ten weeks for the period since 1 April 2021.

Trudy Harrison: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s performance against business plan targets is published at the end of the financial year to account for the full year’s performance. The figures to date reflect good performance across most measures and the DVLA is on track to meet or exceed all targets relating to online services, which account for the majority of its transactions. The targets for paper transactions and correspondence in 2021-22 were set in line with pre pandemic levels of customer service and the DVLA is unlikely to meet those this year. However, the business plan made clear that the targets had been set in the context of no further disruption to service through Covid or industrial action, which has not been the case.The information requested on the proportion of postal and online applications that have been completed within the specified timescales is not readily available. Officials from the DVLA will write to the Honourable Member when the information is available.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Ed Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the results of the government consultation on the availability and accessibility of public electric car charging infrastructure will be published.

Trudy Harrison: The Government is committed to ensuring an accessible and inclusively designed electric vehicle (EV) charging network is available for all consumers.We have consulted on using our powers under the Automated Electric Vehicles Act (2018) to improve the consumer experience at public chargepoints. Proposals included opening public chargepoint data; improving the reliability of the network; streamlining the payment methods offered to drivers; and increasing pricing transparency. We are seeking to lay legislation in 2022.We have also consulted on introducing accessibility requirements at EV chargepoints in autumn 2021. We will publish a response in 2022.

Electric Vehicles: Disability

Ed Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the infrastructure needed for the UK’s transition to electric vehicles is accessible for people with disabilities.

Trudy Harrison: The Government is committed to ensuring an accessible and inclusively designed electric vehicle (EV) charging network is available for all consumers.That is why we are partnering with national disability charity Motability to commission the British Standards Institution (BSI) to develop accessibility standards for public EV chargepoints. These standards – to be finalised by summer 2022 – are being developed in collaboration with consumer groups, chargepoint operators and other stakeholders.  Guidance will consider aspects such as kerb height, cable weight, adequate space between bollards and chargepoints being of a height suitable for wheelchair users. It will also consider chargepoints in the context of their surrounding built environment to ensure pedestrians and other road users’ needs are reflected. We consulted on introducing accessibility requirements at EV chargepoints in autumn 2021. We will publish a response in 2022.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Renewable Energy: Finance

James Wild: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the total amount was of payments made by companies under Contracts for Difference to the Low Carbon Contracts Company when strike prices were below market prices in each of the last five years.

Greg Hands: The Low Carbon Contracts Company publishes information on payments made by generators under the Contracts for Difference scheme on their Data Portal[1]. [1] https://www.lowcarboncontracts.uk/dashboards/cfd/actuals-dashboards/historical-dashboard

Natural Gas

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the number of households which have removed their gas supply.

Greg Hands: The Department publishes data on the number of operational gas meters. Growth in the electrification of heat is likely to see an increasing number of households opt to remove their gas supply. Evidence from the Electrification of Heat Demonstration Project suggests that removing their gas supply was a motivating factor for some people when adopting a heat pump.

Heating: Renewable Energy

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to align the completion of the transition from fossil fuel heating in off-gas grid settings with the EPC C target date.

Greg Hands: In the Heat and Buildings Strategy, the Government set out the actions it will be taking to reduce emissions from buildings to ensure that it remains on track to Net Zero by 2050. For example, the government is providing a package of support, including targeted funding of £950million for the Home Upgrade Grant, for consumers in fuel poverty off the gas grid to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. In addition to improving EPC standards, the government is supporting consumers to make the transition to low carbon heating by providing £450 million for the new Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

Housing: Energy

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to financially assist those people living in listed and older properties to insulate their homes to be energy efficient.

Greg Hands: The Government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy set out a comprehensive package of measures to retrofit the nation’s buildings. Alongside this the Government announced more than £3.9 billion of new funding for decarbonising heat and buildings, bringing the total commitment in this Parliament to £6.6billion. As part of this, the Government has a number of grant schemes to support people on low incomes to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. These schemes include the Local Authority Delivery Scheme, the Home Upgrade Grant and the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund. In addition, the Government has committed to extending the Energy Company Obligation from 2022 to 2026, boosting its value from £640 million to £1 billion a year. This will help an extra 305,000 households with green measures such as insulation. Measures delivered through Government schemes must meet independent installation standards; these standards ensure that measures are installed correctly in different types of homes.

Energy: Prices

Dehenna Davison: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to mitigate the effect of rising energy prices on the cost of living.

Greg Hands: The Government is monitoring the significant increases in wholesale energy prices closely, and meeting regularly with Ofgem, suppliers and consumer groups to understand the future impact on consumers as well as to discuss potential mitigations. The Government is committed to protecting energy customers, especially the most vulnerable. The Energy Price Cap will continue to protect consumers, ensuring they pay a fair price for their energy this winter. Low income and fuel poor households will continue to be supported with their energy bills through the Warm Home Discount, which provides eligible households with a £140 discount. Winter Fuel Payments and Cold Weather Payments will ensure that the most vulnerable are better able to heat their homes through the winter. Additionally, the Government announced an additional £500 million for local authorities, through the new Household Support Fund, to support vulnerable households meet daily needs such as utility bills.

Housing: Heat Pumps

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to assess the suitability of the UK’s existing housing stock for heat pump installation.

Greg Hands: BEIS modelling on the energy efficiency of homes and their electrical connections suggests it would be feasible to install heat pumps in around 80 per cent of homes, potentially rising to around 90 per cent with fabric upgrades. Furthermore, the £14.6 million Electrification of Heat Demonstration Project has successfully demonstrated that heat pumps are a viable and effective heating solution across the diverse housing archetypes in the UK.

Housing: Energy

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of introducing minimum energy efficiency standards for owner-occupied homes.

Greg Hands: In the Clean Growth Strategy, the Government set the aspiration for as many homes as possible to reach EPC Band C by 2035 where practical, cost-effective, and affordable. There are 15.6 million owner occupied households in England, of which 9 million have an EPC rating below Band C. The Government committed in the Energy White Paper to seek primary powers to create a long-term regulatory framework to improve the energy performance of homes, alongside a package of incentives. The Government has consulted with a wide range of stakeholders and will undertake further consultation on specific policy design before secondary legislation. Subsequently, in the Net Zero strategy, the government also committed to consulting on phasing in higher minimum performance standards to ensure all homes meet EPC Band C by 2035 where practical, cost effective and affordable.

Housing: Solar Power

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of three million houses using solar on the UK's ability to reach net zero.

Greg Hands: Solar photovoltaic technology is a key part of the Government’s strategy for decarbonising energy and increasing energy performance of buildings. Generating electricity from rooftop domestic solar can reduce carbon emissions, protect against electricity price fluctuations, and save money on energy bills. Consuming the electricity generated locally also reduces the amount of electricity lost in electricity transmission and distribution networks.

Green Homes Grant Scheme

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to reopen theGreen Homes Grant scheme.

Greg Hands: The Green Homes Grant Voucher scheme was designed to provide a short-term economic stimulus while tackling our contribution to climate change. However, it was not delivering at the rate and scale the government had originally intended, facing a number of delivery challenges. The scheme closed to new applications on 31 March 2021 and will not reopen. To ensure we continue to deliver on our net zero ambitions and support a thriving building retrofit industry, the Government will be expanding its funding commitment for both the Homes Upgrade Grant scheme and the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund with up to £950m and £800m in additional funding respectively over 2022/23 to 2024/25. This takes our total funding to over £6.4bn across the lifetime of this Parliament. We are also introducing a new Boiler Upgrade Scheme worth £450 million, which will provide capital grants towards the cost of a heat pump.

Energy: Competition

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of setting up a not-for-profit public energy company to offer energy tariffs to consumers.

Greg Hands: The Government does not believe in nationalisation and was under the impression the Official Opposition did not either.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether energy customers will have the ability to opt out of the energy bill discount scheme.

Greg Hands: The intention of the energy bill rebate scheme is that it is universal, and consumers will not need to apply for the discount. Details of the scheme will be subject to a public consultation in the spring. More information on what the government is doing to protect consumers can be found online here:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1052305/Energy_Intervention_factsheet.pdf

United Kingdom Accreditation Service

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has held discussions with the UNK Accreditation Service regarding the provision of accreditation services to companies owned by the Myanmar military.

Paul Scully: UKAS is appointed by Government as the National Accreditation Body for the United Kingdom to assess, against nationally and internationally agreed standards, organisations that provide conformity assessment services such as certification, testing, inspection, calibration and verification.UKAS has stated they do not operate in Myanmar or provide accreditation services to companies owned by the Myanmar military. UKAS treats these matters very seriously and would investigate any such claims thoroughly.

Public Sector: Working Hours

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to implement trials of a four-day working week in the UK public sector on similar basis to those underway in Scotland and Ireland.

Paul Scully: The Government has no plans to implement trials of a four-day working week in the UK Civil Service.

Minibuses: Manufacturing Industries

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he will take steps to support British manufacturers in producing right-hand-drive minibuses for passenger use.

Lee Rowley: The automotive sector is an important part of the Government’s plans for green growth, levelling up across our country and driving emissions to net zero by 2050.The Government is committed to making the UK the best location to manufacture zero emission vehicles of all types.

Fuel Poverty

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what impact assessment has been undertaken of the numbers of households which will be classed as being in fuel poverty due to the energy cap rise (a) without any mitigation measures and (b) with the mitigation measures announced on 3 February 2022.

Greg Hands: The next fuel poverty statistics are due to be published on the 24th February. The report will include data for 2020 on the number of households living in fuel poverty in England and analysis of the composition of fuel poor households, as well as projections of the number of households in fuel poverty in 2021 and 2022.

Space Technology

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the National Space Strategy, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on the potential contribution of the Defence Space Portfolio to supporting wider space sector growth.

George Freeman: In September 2021, the Secretaries of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and Defence published the UK’s first joint civil and military National Space Strategy. A core part of that strategy is delivering the defence space portfolio, which will support our goals in space including both protecting and defending the UK and supporting economic growth.As reaffirmed in the recently published Defence Space Strategy, the MOD is investing an extra £1.4bn in Defence space technologies over the next 10 years. This is in addition to the £5bn investment in Skynet satellite communications over a similar timeframe. This represents a significant increase in Government funding for the UK space sector and will play a part in stimulating innovation, commercialisation, and growth across the wider sector. Defence will utilise elements of the Defence Space Portfolio funding to further support Space Science & Technology (which includes Research & Development), alongside existing funding.Ministers and officials engage regularly with the Ministry of Defence to understand the opportunities and challenges to enable the UK’s space sector to grow and flourish, and I look forward to continuing to engage in that process as we implement the National Space Strategy.

Space Technology

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether a detailed implementation plan for the National Space Strategy will be published.

George Freeman: The National Space Strategy, published in September 2021, sets out the government’s plans to build one of the most innovative and attractive space economies in the world. Government is already pivoting to build on the success of the strategy’s publication to drive forward its delivery and prioritise commercial and investment enabling activities.The newly stood-up BEIS Space Directorate is working closely with the Ministry of Defence to develop an implementation plan to guide strategy delivery, as we work through this process a decision will be made on publication. We will engage with industry, academia, and the sector in due course.BEIS jointly co-chairs the newly established Director-level National Space Board with the Ministry of Defence to oversee and drive delivery of the National Space Strategy’s ambitions and commitments across government. The strategy will be delivered jointly by several government departments and with the support of our thriving space sector: businesses, innovators, entrepreneurs, and space scientists.Monitoring and evaluating the impact of initiatives against key success factors will be an integral part of delivering the strategy’s vision. Government will work with the space sector on finding the right set of metrics to raise ambition, drive progress and monitor delivery.

Space Technology

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has for developing an advisory board for space.

George Freeman: The UK has a Space Sector Council comprising senior members from the space industry, academia and government. This Council is the most senior-level forum for the sector to raise and discuss issues of strategic importance. It is co-chaired by the President of UKspace and the Minister for Science and meets quarterly. Following the publication of the National Space Strategy, the sector is piloting a new National Space Partnership, comprising of stakeholders from industry, academia and government, to identify, assess and consolidate views across the whole of the UK’s Space Sector in order to better deliver the ambition of the National Space Strategy. Government will work closely with the sector to review the effectiveness of these structures and recommend continuation or changes as needed.

Innovation

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the announcement of the Innovation Clusters Pilot on page 173 of the Levelling Up White Paper, what metrics will be used to assess the success of the Innovation Clusters pilot; and what lessons he has learnt from the experience of Innovation Clusters in other parts of the UK.

George Freeman: We engaged widely in developing proposals to pilot Innovation Accelerators in three UK city-regions. This included learning from the R&D Place Advisory Group established in 2020, which included UK and international experts. We expect to co-develop the pilot Innovation Accelerators in partnership with the three UK city-regions selected, and confirm the metrics used to assess their success as part of finalising the business plans for the pilots. Where appropriate, these will align with the mission on R&D published in the Levelling Up White Paper and the objectives of the Innovation Strategy We will give decision-makers at all levels the information they need to grow thriving local innovation economies. Our new open data tool, co-developed by BEIS and NESTA, provides high quality and accessible evidence on sub-regional R&D systems in the UK.

Remote Working: Civil Servants

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish (a) any assessment undertaken and (b) the methodology of any such assessment on the cost and productivity differential between civil servants working from home and working in Whitehall.

Paul Scully: The Government is committed to encouraging flexible working, which has many benefits for both individuals and employers. The Review of the Flexible Working Regulations 2014 showed that flexible working can reduce vacancy costs; increase skill retention; enhance business performance; and reduce staff absenteeism rates. To help organisations realise the benefits of flexible working, we issued a consultation and accompanying impact assessment on “making flexible working the default” in Autumn of last year. The consultation closed on 1 December 2021, receiving over 1,600 responses. We will be publishing our consultation response in due course.

Working Hours

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of a four-day working week to the Government’s wider strategy for flexible working.

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what organisations and stakeholders he has met to discuss the potential merits of a four-day working week.

Paul Scully: A four-day working week may work well for some workers and employers. However, the Government does not believe there can be a ‘one size fits all’ approach to work arrangements. That is why we put individual agency and choice at the heart of our consultation on “making flexible working the default”, which closed on 1st December 2021. We are currently reviewing the responses and will respond in due course. BEIS Ministers attend the Flexible Working Taskforce, which is co-chaired by senior officials and the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development. This considers how to support flexible working in all its forms. The Taskforce’s membership comprises representatives from 16 external organisations including trade unions, voluntary sector organisations, and business groups.

Measurement

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential economic value and impact on GDP of reviewing the EU ban on markings and sales in imperial units.

Paul Scully: We are reviewing the EU ban on the use of imperial units for markings so that businesses have more choice over the measures they use. This is an important step in taking back control of our national rules, and we will consult to ensure that we have the best evidence available on which to make changes. An assessment of the economic impact on businesses will be carried out in due course.

Disability: Finance

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to Part One of the National Disability Strategy, published on 28 July 2021, what progress his Department has made on the setting up of an Extra Costs Taskforce, in conjunction with the Cabinet Office.

Lee Rowley: To inform the scope and focus of the Extra Costs Taskforce, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, alongside the Cabinet Office, will identify the key areas where disabled people experience extra costs. We will be informed by the insights and experiences of disabled people, businesses, and other relevant organisations, to ensure the Taskforce delivers the greatest impact for those it is seeking to help. We will set out in due course our plans for establishing the Taskforce by summer 2022, as committed in the National Disability Strategy.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office: Disability

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to Part One of the National Disability Strategy, published July 2021, what recent steps his Department has taken to (a) encourage and support workplace disability networks, (b) achieve and maintain the highest level of Disability Confident accreditation, (c) ensure responsive and timely support to meet workplace adjustment needs and (d) develop and embed flexible working.

Conor Burns: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) has the following arrangements in place:a) The NIO does not have its own disability networks, but works with the Ministry of Justice to ensure our staff have access to the MOJ’s well established networks;b) We are in receipt of the Disability Confident leader status following our submission to be accredited in 2018;c) Requests for reasonable adjustments are implemented wherever possible, reasonable and practicable. The NIO also supports Workplace Adjustment Passports;d) All staff have a right to submit a request for flexible working regardless of their length of service, and this is offered to all new starters. Where possible, the requests are accommodated, such as through providing term-time working, compressed hours, or 9-day fortnights.

Department of Health and Social Care

Protective Clothing: Xinjiang

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether any suppliers of PPE items procured by the Government use factories based in Xinjiang as part of their supply chain.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department of Health and Social Care: Randox Laboratories

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Return to an Address of the Honourable the House of Commons for specified minutes, notes, and correspondence relating to Government contracts awarded to Randox Laboratories Ltd, HC1072, laid before the House on 17 November 2021, whether his Department searched for relevant WhatsApp messages (a) to or (b) from the former Parliamentary Under Secretary for Innovation, Lord Bethell, in meeting the terms of the Humble Address.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Mental Health Services: Staff

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2022 to Question 113694 on mental health support teams, how many staff make up the average mental health support team.

Gillian Keegan: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Health Services: Coronavirus

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish guidance on the right for patients to request being treated by vaccinated staff.

Edward Argar: The NHS Constitution for England sets out the rights to which patients are entitled, which includes the right to be involved in decisions about their care and the right to be cared for in a clean, safe, secure and suitable environment. However, there is no specific entitlement for patients in National Health Service facilities to request they are treated by vaccinated staff.

Eating Disorders: Mental Health Services

Dehenna Davison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to ensure equal access to eating disorder treatment across the country.

Gillian Keegan: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 24 January 2022 to Question 105730.

Local Government Services: Autism

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that local authorities can provide sufficient training and staffing levels to ensure local services can meet the needs of autistic adult residents.

Gillian Keegan: We committed to developing and trialling the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training in Learning Disability and Autism for all health and social care staff. The Training is intended to ensure that staff are sufficiently equipped with the skills and knowledge to provide safe, compassionate and informed care to meet the needs of autistic people. The Training was trialled in England during 2021 and is currently being evaluated.To support local government services, the Government has created a one-off, non-ring-fenced grant of £822 million. Local authorities can use this funding for local priorities such as training and staffing to meet the needs of autistic adult residents.

Mental Health Services: Reviews

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS mental health trusts have responded to NHS England and NHS Improvement with the outcomes of their local reviews into Serenity Integrated Mentoring, and similar treatment models, as of 1 February 2022; and what proportion of all mental health trusts that figure represents.

Gillian Keegan: As of 1 February, all National Health Service mental health trusts except one have responded to NHS England and NHS Improvement regarding their local reviews into serenity integrated mentoring, and similar treatment models. This represents around 98% of mental health trusts. NHS England and NHS Improvement is currently in contact with the one trust that did not respond in order to learn more about local models in place in that area.

Autism: Health

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of providing an annual health check for those people diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who may not be independently able to identify other health issues.

Gillian Keegan: NHS England and NHS Improvement, in partnership with Autistica, have supported the development and piloting of an autism-specific health check in primary care. Newcastle University are currently running this pilot in the North East to determine its effectiveness and ease of use by practitioners. Results from the study are expected late in 2024, with an economic evaluation.

Suicide

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the age range is of (a) men and (b) women who died by suicide in each of the last three years.

Gillian Keegan: The Office of National Statistics publish data on deaths by suicide between ages 10 to 90+ for both men and women. The table below provides numbers by age groups for males and females.   Persons  Males  Females   20202019201820202019201820202019201810-14Deaths141010756754Rate0.40.30.30.40.30.40.40.30.3 uuuuuuuuu15-19Deaths147176178106118121415857Rate4.75.75.76.67.47.62.73.93.820-24Deaths307379358235297277728281Rate8.810.910.213.116.615.34.34.84.725-29Deaths39346439128834929410511597Rate10.412.210.215.018.115.25.76.25.230-34Deaths45648744334838035110810792Rate11.912.811.718.220.018.65.75.64.835-39Deaths489473420374361319115112101Rate13.112.711.320.219.517.36.15.95.440-44Deaths41348645631837235395114103Rate11.914.213.418.421.920.95.46.76.045-49Deaths560589648430460491130129157Rate15.415.917.123.825.026.17.16.98.250-54Deaths533585555398437424135148131Rate13.815.014.220.822.722.06.97.56.655-59Deaths45147239833735729911411599Rate12.012.911.118.219.717.06.06.25.560-64Deaths344359313254274227908586Rate10.811.510.316.217.915.25.55.45.565-69Deaths221218228167153159546569Rate7.97.88.112.411.311.63.84.54.770-74Deaths206226186154169141525745Rate7.38.16.811.512.710.83.53.93.275-79Deaths13415015396109119384134Rate6.77.78.210.312.113.83.53.93.480-84Deaths1091191377487115353222Rate7.58.39.811.613.718.64.34.02.885-89Deaths848395606270242125Rate9.59.411.016.817.720.54.54.04.890+Deaths514052362734151318Rate9.87.710.421.216.221.54.33.75.3 Source: Office for National Statistics, Data are suicide registrations in England https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/suicidesintheunitedkingdom/latest figures presented for EnglandFootnotes1 The National Statistics definition of suicide is given in the 'Guidance' worksheet.2 Figures are for persons aged 10 years and over.3 Age-specific suicide rate per 100,000 population.4 The lower (LCL) and upper (UCL) 95% confidence limits have been provided. These form a confidence interval, which is a measure of the statistical precision of an estimate and shows the range of uncertainty around the estimated figure. Calculations based on small numbers of events are often subject to random fluctuations. As a general rule, if the confidence interval around one figure overlaps with the interval around another, we cannot say with certainty that there is more than a chance difference between the two figures.5 Age-specific rates were not calculated where there were fewer than 3 deaths and these are marked with “:” to inform the users that the rate has been suppressed. It is our best practice not to calculate rates based on such small numbers, as they are imprecise and susceptible to inaccurate interpretation. Age-specific rates based on 3 to 19 deaths are marked with a “u” to warn users that their reliability is low.6 The area is based on the persons usual residence as provided by the informant upon registration in England and Wales. Figures for England and Wales separately (area codes E92000001 and W92000004 respectively) exclude death of non-residents and are based on the latest available postcode boundaries (May 2021).7 Figures are for deaths registered, rather than deaths occurring in each calendar year. Due to the length of time it takes to complete a coroner’s inquest, it can take months or even years for a suicide to be registered. More details can be found in the latest 'Suicides in the UK' statistical bulletin:

Autism and Mental Illness: Supported Housing

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that people with (a) autism, (b) a mental health diagnosis and (c) other diagnoses and who require supported accommodation can live near immediate family members in (i) Brighton and Hove and (ii) other areas; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Keegan: In the adult social care reform white paper, we committed to incentivise the supply of supported housing for older people, people with a physical disability, people with a learning disability, autistic people, and people with mental ill-health, through the Care and Support Specialised Housing Fund. £213 million will be available over the next three years through this Fund. This is alongside a new £300 million investment to connect housing with health and care, to boost the supply of supported housing, and to increase local expenditure on services for those in supported housing, in all local places.Under Mental Health Act reforms, we propose creating a new duty on commissioners to ensure that there are sufficient community-based services for autistic people and people with a learning disability so they can live full lives in their community.

Department of Health and Social Care: Randox Laboratories

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February to Question 81967 on Randox Laboratories, when his Department previously released the minutes of the meeting of 9 April 2020.

Edward Argar: The Department released a version of the minutes on 18 January 2021 in response to a Freedom of Information request.

Incontinence: Health Services

Ed Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that every local authority and health authority has a local continence pathway in place.

Gillian Keegan: NHS England has established The National Bladder and Bowel Health Project to improve continence care across the whole health and care system. The Project has a specific remit to look at clinical standards for bladder, bowel, paediatrics and stoma care pathways and is in the process of developing evidence-based service pathways to support a consistent approach to continence services.The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act (2007) requires Clinical Commissioning Groups and local authorities to develop a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment of the health and well-being of their local community. NHS England’s Excellence in Continence Care provides a framework that enables commissioners, including local authorities, to work in collaboration with providers and others to improve the care and experience of patients with continence issues.

Accident and Emergency Departments: County Durham

Dehenna Davison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment the Government has made of capacity challenges in County Durham's accident and emergency departments.

Edward Argar: No assessment has been made. However, NHS England and NHS Improvement advise that additional staff are being recruited at the University Hospital of North Durham and Darlington Memorial Hospital. Darlington’s emergency department was extended in 2020 and there are further plans to redevelop and increase capacity at Durham’s emergency department. Same day emergency care units were also opened at each site in 2021.County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust has also enhanced paediatric services and facilities in the emergency departments and a new paediatric assessment unit has been installed at the Durham site. A new primary care hub has also been opened adjacent to the emergency department in Durham.

Hospitals: Learning Disability

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people with a learning disability are currently required to wear restraints in hospitals.

Gillian Keegan: The information requested is not held centrally.Where hospital treatment is required, it should be high quality, the least restrictive and for the shortest time possible. The use of force or restraint should only ever be used proportionately and as a last resort, when all attempts to de-escalate a situation have been employed. NHS England and NHS Improvement have commissioned the deployment of the HOPES training model to reduce the use of restrictive practices and long-term segregation.

Coronavirus: Hospitals

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what additional support his Department is planning to provide to NHS Trusts in relation to the high proportion of patients in hospital with covid-19 as of 1 February 2022.

Edward Argar: In 2021/22, we have provided £3 billion the National Health Service’s recovery from the impacts of COVID-19. Earlier in 2021/22, £6.6 billion was allocated for the hospital discharge programme, infection control measures, post-COVID-19 assessment services, and NHS staff support services. A further £4.9 billion and £500 million in capital funding was announced in September for the second half of 2021/22. This includes a £700 million Targeted Investment Fund to support NHS systems and providers for the recovery of elective services and £2 billion for increased elective activity.We also announced an additional £23.3 billion from April 2022 to March 2025 to support the NHS in managing the ongoing impact of COVID-19. This includes over £8 billion to reduce the elective care backlog through the deliver millions of checks, scans and procedures.

NHS: Parking

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of ending car parking charges for NHS workers.

Edward Argar: Since March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, National Health Service staff have been provided with free hospital car parking. The cost of funding Trusts to deliver this commitment is estimated at approximately £90 million per year.

Protective Clothing: Contracts

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2022 to Question 103559 on Coronavirus: Protective Clothing, whether the personal protective equipment (PPE) provided by (a) Pestfix and (b) Ayanda which is not currently available for release to the NHS as a result of technical and quality issues was included in the £0.67 billion of PPE which cannot be used or the £2.6 billion of PPE which is not suitable for use within the health and social care sector, reported in his Department's annual report and accounts.

Edward Argar: The Department does not currently hold the information in the format required.

Protective Clothing: Felixstowe Port

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the 3.4 billion units of personal protective equipment identified as potential excess stock is being stored at the port of Felixstowe.

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the 3.4 billion items of personal protective clothing identified as potential excess stock is being stored at UK ports.

Edward Argar: No excess stock is stored at United Kingdom ports.

NHS Test and Trace: Telephone Services

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2022 to Question 99071 on NHS Test and Trace: Telephone Services, when the data will be centrally verified and the estimate published.

Maggie Throup: The information requested has now been centrally verified and is shown in the following table. Average call duration*Average waiting timeTotal number of calls where the caller ended the call before it was answered2020482 secondsNot available1,717,0002021517 seconds33 seconds242,000 Sources:Test Capacity Plan 2021, CTS Daily SitRep 2020Notes:* This is the average handle time and also includes after call work.Data for 2020 from the launch of the service on 19 April 2020.

Coronavirus: Contact Tracing

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to continue to fund local covid-19 contact tracing services beyond March 2022; and if he will make a statement.

Maggie Throup: Over £2.1 billion has been provided to local authorities through the Contain Outbreak Management Fund (COMF), with £400 million allocated in 2021/22. We continue to work with local authorities to ensure that the COMF delivers the objectives of Local Outbreak Management Plans. Specific public health activities funded from the COMF are determined by local authorities in conjunction with Directors of Public Health.No decision has yet been on made on the continuation of the COMF and discussions on COVID-19 funding for local authorities are ongoing. In December 2021 we confirmed that unspent funds from the COMF can be carried forward into 2022/23.

Coronavirus: Quarantine

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to continue to provide a payment for qualifying people to self-isolate when infected with covid-19.

Maggie Throup: The Test and Trace Support Payment scheme is currently due to continue until the end of March 2022. The Government continues to keep the scheme closely under review.

Coronavirus: Quarantine

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to extend powers to require self-isolation in response to covid-19 infection beyond March 2022.

Maggie Throup: The self-isolation regulations were intended as a temporary measure to reduce transmission of COVID-19 and since their introduction, the Government has kept them under continuous review. The regulations are due to expire on 24 March 2022. A further review of the policy will be undertaken ahead of that time.

Coronavirus: Drugs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders on the availability of the Pfizer pill for covid-19 on the NHS.

Maggie Throup: An updated interim clinical commissioning policy on the use of neutralising monoclonal antibody treatments and antivirals for non-hospitalised patients with COVID-19 was agreed by the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers on 27 January 2022. This set out the intention to add PF-07321332+ritonavir (co-packaged as Paxlovid), manufactured by Pfizer, and remdesivir to the currently available treatment options for highest risk patients with COVID-19 from 10 February 2022.NHS England has held webinars with stakeholders such as patient organisations, Royal Colleges, professional bodies and clinicians to support the introduction of the interim commissioning policy, with further engagement events and communications planned. Any decisions on deployment of community treatments, including Paxlovid, beyond the highest risk groups will be subject to the outcomes of the PANORAMIC study.

Tobacco: Mortality Rates

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2021 to Question 84415 on Oral Tobacco: Health Hazards, what the mortality rate is per 100,000 users as a result of the use of (a) cigarettes and (b) Swedish snus.

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2021 to Question 84415 on Oral Tobacco: Health Hazards, if he will publish his Department's assessment on the risks of adverse health outcomes caused by snus.

Maggie Throup: There is no available data related to the mortality rate as a result of the use of cigarettes or for Swedish snus. The Department has made no formal assessment of adverse health outcomes caused by snus. However, there is evidence of increased all-cause mortality among snus users although this is lower than for tobacco smokers. Snus use also has cardiovascular risks.We are exploring a range of proposals to reduce the harms caused by smoking as part of the forthcoming tobacco control plan. This will not include proposals to introduce additional tobacco products into the market, such as oral tobacco.

Health: Rural Areas

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to implement the recommendations of the Report of the Parliamentary Inquiry into Rural Health and Social Care to improve health inequalities faced by people living in rural areas.

Maria Caulfield: We welcome the Report of the Parliamentary Inquiry into Rural Health and Social Care, in particular its focus on health disparities and the distinct experiences of rural communities. The Government is committed to levelling up health across the country. We plan to publish a Health Disparities White Paper later this year which will set out a series of impactful measures to address health disparities and their causes, including those linked to geography.

Abortion: Telemedicine

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's consultation on Home use of both pills for early medical abortion up to 10 weeks gestation, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential effect of making telemedicine for early medical abortion permanent on (a) waiting times and (b) the ability for women to receive care at an earlier stage.

Maggie Throup: The Government’s public consultation on whether to make permanent the temporary measure allowing for home use of both pills for early medical abortion up to 10 weeks gestation for all eligible women asked questions on accessibility and the impact on the provision of abortion services. We are considering all evidence submitted and will publish our response in due course.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) deaths and (b) adverse reactions have been officially recorded against covid-19 vaccinations; and how many have been examined to establish the cause and/or trigger.

Maria Caulfield: As of 15 December 2021, The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) received and analysed 145,446 United Kingdom (UK) Yellow Cards from people who have received the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine. These reports include a total of 416,479 suspected reactions (i.e. a single report may contain more than one symptom). In 666 of the Pfizer vaccine reports, the patient was reported to have died shortly after vaccinationFor the Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine, a total of 240,065 Yellow Card reports of 850,893 suspected reactions, including 1164 deaths have been received. For the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, a total of 24,721 Yellow Card reports of 82,698 suspected reactions, including 23 deaths have been received.These suspected reactions are in the context of over 132 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine given in the UK so far. The MHRA closely monitors the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines used in the UK vaccination programme.MHRA assesses all Yellow Card reports of deaths and all Yellow Card reports are continually reviewed to detect possible new side effects that may require regulatory action, and to differentiate these from events that would have happened regardless of the vaccine or medicine being administered, for instance due to underlying or undiagnosed illness.

Coronavirus: Drugs

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the PANORAMIC sub-study investigating the effect of prescribing antivirals to people living with a covid-19 positive patient will begin.

Maggie Throup: The PANORAMIC study team will begin developing the protocol for the post-exposure prophylaxis sub-study imminently. The sub-study is likely to begin later in spring.

Electronic Cigarettes: Children and Young People

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends in the number of under-18s taking up regular use of e-cigarettes; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of children taking up those products.

Maggie Throup: The Government is clear that we only support the use of e-cigarettes as a tool for smokers to quit smoking. We will continue to strongly discourage non-smokers and children from using them.Regular use of e-cigarettes amongst children remains low, at around 2% of 11 to 15 year olds in 2018. This is as a result of our strong regulatory framework including restrictions on advertising, packaging and labelling, preventing sales to under 18 year olds and limits on tank sizes and nicotine content.

Organs: Donors

Simon Jupp: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to help improve public awareness of organ donation.

Maria Caulfield: NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) promotes organ donation in a number of ways including Organ Donation Week in September and the ‘Leave them Certain’ campaign.NHSBT launched a multi-channel campaign to inform the public of the change to an opt-out system for organ donation in May 2020. Figures indicated 75% of the population were aware of the law change in December 2020.NHSBT’s Community Investment Scheme has a specific focus on engaging with Black and South Asian communities. The programme supports 35 grassroot, community and faith-based organisations to raise awareness of organ donation, seven organisations have received a share of £100,000 funding for living donation. Since September 2021, organ donation and transplantation has been taught as part of the secondary school curriculum in England, aimed at promoting awareness in young people.

IVF: LGBT People

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) ensure equal access to IVF treatment for LGBTQ+ people and (b) tackle regional disparities in the cost of that treatment for same-sex couples.

Maria Caulfield: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Ealing Central and Acton on 31 January 2022 to Question PQ112645.

Gynaecology: Finance

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the APPG on Endometriosis Inquiry Report 2020, entitled Endometriosis in the UK: time for change, which found that 54 per cent of women did not feel they were able to get an appointment with a gynaecologist if they needed to, what steps he is taking to help ensure that there is adequate funding to enable access to a consultation with a gynaecologist.

Maria Caulfield: The Government has received the Inquiry Report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Endometriosis. The report raises a number of important issues concerning the treatment and diagnosis of endometriosis, which will be carefully considered as part of our ongoing work in women’s health.The Department has made available £2 billion, this year, through the Elective Recovery Fund which systems across England can draw upon to help recover elective services which includes gynaecology services. In addition to this, a commitment of £8 billion has been made to reduce waiting lists and transform elective services across 2022-2025. Together this additional funding could support the National Health Service to deliver the equivalent of nine million extra checks, scans and procedures.

Dental Services: Contracts

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to issue a new dental contract for the 2022-23 financial year.

Maria Caulfield: Work to reform the National Health Service dental contract is underway and is being led by NHS England and NHS Improvement working closely with the Department and the British Dental Association (BDA).Any proposed contractual changes will be negotiated with the BDA and may involve legislative changes. It is therefore not possible to set out a timetable for implementation of any new contractual arrangements at this stage.

Dental Services: Contracts

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help support dental practices meet Government activity targets in relation to NHS contracts, in areas where there are low availability of NHS dentists.

Maria Caulfield: Each dental practice is being asked to deliver at least 85% of contracted units of dental activity between January and March 2021 in order to receive full income support. The increased thresholds are based on data indicating what National Health Service dental practices have achieved to date and consider the most recent update to infection prevention and control guidance.An exceptions process remains in place and where practices have faced particular challenges in meeting the thresholds as a result of extenuating circumstances, they are encouraged to discuss these with their commissioners. Additional temporary exceptional circumstances arrangements will specifically offer protection for individual members of practice staff who are advised to self-isolate or are unable to work as a direct result of COVID-19 illness, resulting in loss of patient care.

Gender Recognition: Clinics

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the average waiting time for gender identity clinics to the target of 18 weeks.

Maria Caulfield: To address waiting times for gender identity clinics a new delivery model based in primary care services has have been developed. Four new pilot schemes have been opened under this model based in London, Cheshire and Merseyside, Greater Manchester and the East of England. A further clinic in Sussex is planned to open in 2022.We forecast that the current four clinics will reduce the current waiting list by around a quarter by 2024.

MMR Vaccine

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the level of MMR vaccination rates (a) nationally and (b) in York as of 1 February 2022.

Maria Caulfield: Official childhood vaccine coverage data, including for the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, are published quarterly by the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and annually by UKHSA and NHS Digital. Coverage of childhood vaccines are measured when children reach their first, second and fifth birthdays.As of 01 February 2022, the most recent data available on MMR vaccine coverage data in England and in York, from the most recent quarterly publication for the period July to September 2021 and published in December 2021, are presented in the table below: MMR1 at 2 yearsMMR1 at 5 yearsMMR2 at 5 yearsEngland88.6%93.7%85.5%York Local Authority92.6%96.9%91.0% Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cover-of-vaccination-evaluated-rapidly-cover-programme-2021-to-2022-quarterly-data

Cancer: Telemedicine

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make available a hotline for cancer care and diagnosis through the NHS.

Maria Caulfield: One strand of the £20 million Elective Recovery Funding is being used to enable Cancer Alliances to develop a more robust evidence base on the effectiveness of a secondary care telephone triage model for people with potential cancer symptoms. These new approaches have the potential to ease the pressure on primary care and help ensure people get into the system and onto a cancer diagnosis pathway more quickly.

Health Services: Private Sector

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the covid surge deal with the independent health sector will be financed; and whether covid surge funding is being provided to Wales through Barnett consequentials.

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of how many people on NHS hospital treatment waiting lists could have their NHS hospital treatment paid for using the funding from the covid surge deal, announced on 10 January 2022.

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of how many NHS doctors could be paid for using the funding from the covid surge deal, announced on 10 January 2022.

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of how many NHS nurses could be paid for using the funding from the covid surge deal, announced on 10 January 2022.

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of how many NHS midwives could be paid for using the funding from the covid surge deal, announced on 10 January 2022.

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of how many NHS clinical biochemists could be paid for using the funding from the covid surge deal, announced on 10 January 2022.

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of how many NHS radiologists could be paid for using the funding from the covid surge deal, announced on 10 January 2022.

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of how many NHS health care assistants could be paid for using the funding from the covid surge deal, announced on 10 January 2022.

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of how many clinical scientists could be paid for using the funding from the covid surge deal, announced on 10 January 2022.

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of how many NHS general practitioners could be paid for using the funding from the covid surge deal, announced on 10 January 2022.

Edward Argar: The arrangements between NHS England and independent sector providers are not expected to result in significant additional spending above normal Quarter 4 levels and can be funded from existing budgets. Therefore, there is no effect on Barnett consequentials. As there is no new funding for these short-term, 12-week contracts, this could not pay for additional healthcare professionals. The arrangements allow for the continuing delivery of elective care for National Health Service patients in England and the provision of ‘surge’ capacity to assist NHS hospitals in England with the impact of the Omicron variant, where required. Local NHS systems, in coordination with regional and national teams, will be responsible for these arrangements to effectively meet local needs. Due to this flexibility, we are unable to estimate how many people will be treated through these arrangements.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Sarah Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure adverse reactions to covid-19 vaccinations are appropriately (a) reported and (b) monitored.

Edward Argar: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) continually monitors the safety of vaccines used in the United Kingdom vaccination programme. This is based on a range of sources, including spontaneous adverse drug reaction data from the UK’s Yellow Card scheme and other global regulators, with data on vaccine exposure from public health partners and information from epidemiological studies. The MHRA’s scientists review information on a daily basis for safety issues or unexpected rare events. This enables rapid detection of any new risks, weighed against the expected benefits. The weekly Yellow Card report summarises information on COVID-19 vaccines received via the scheme and includes the findings of safety investigations carried out by the MHRA.

Motor Neurone Disease: Research

Andrew Lewer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the recently announced £50 million for targeted motor neurone disease (MND) research will be awarded in full to the scientific programme set out in the submission by MND charities to the 2021 Spending Review.

Maria Caulfield: This funding can be accessed through applications to the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The NIHR and UKRI rely on researchers submitting high-quality applications to access funding. All applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

Wales Office

Veterans: Wales

John Lamont: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what steps the Government is taking to work with the Welsh Government to deliver the Veterans Strategy Action Plan 2022-24.

Simon Hart: A key commitment in the Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan is to appoint a Veterans’ Commissioner for Wales, ensuring that all parts of the UK have an independent voice representing the interests of veterans.

UK Shared Prosperity Fund: Wales

Liz Twist: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with the First Minister of Wales on the Shared Prosperity Fund.

Simon Hart: My Right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, and I have regular discussions with the First Minister of Wales on a range of issues, including how the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will help to level up communities right across Wales.

Hill Farming: Wales

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of planned UK trade deals on Welsh hill farmers.

David T C Davies: Wales’ identity is intrinsically linked to its landscape and the farming communities who work that land. The Government is committed to supporting Welsh farmers in seizing new opportunities the trade deals bring.The Department for International Trade’s Wales-based team will help Welsh business, including farmers and food producers, grow abroad.

Department for Education

Schools: Assessments

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential relationship between examinations and levels of depression and anxiety among people under 18.

Will Quince: The government is clear that education providers should encourage pupils and students to work hard, but not at the expense of their wellbeing. Examinations are, by their very nature, stressful. Schools and colleges should be able to identify signs of exam-related stress whenever it emerges and be in a position to respond appropriately.Individual young people's mental wellbeing is affected in different ways by issues in their lives. It is important that they receive support where they need it, including from their school or college. The government has provided a wide range and training and resources to schools and colleges to help them support the wellbeing of their pupils and students. Our recent £15 million wellbeing for education recovery and return programmes have provided free expert training, support and resources for staff dealing with children and young people experiencing additional pressures from COVID-19, including anxiety and stress. Approximately 12,000 schools and colleges across the country benefited from wellbeing for education return.The government announced £9.5 million in May 2021 to offer senior mental health lead training to around a third of all state schools and colleges in England in the academic year 2021/22. An additional £3 million was provided on 8 February 2021, to extend this training to more schools and colleges given high demand, so that everyone eligible who wishes to access training before the end of May will be able to. The senior mental health lead is a strategic leadership role, with responsibility for overseeing the school’s ‘whole school approach’ to mental health and wellbeing. As part of this training, leads will learn about how to develop a culture and ethos that promotes positive mental health wellbeing, as well as how to make the best use of local resources to support children and young people experiencing issues.

School Meals: Standards

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential relationship between the quality of school lunches and levels of eating disorders among people under 18.

Will Quince: No assessment has been made on the potential relationship between school meal quality and levels of eating disorders among young people.The school food standards provide the legislative framework to ensure schools provide children with healthy food and drink options. Compliance with the school food standards is mandatory for all maintained schools, including academies.The standards define the foods and drinks that must be provided, which foods are restricted, and those which must not be provided. They apply to all food and drink provided to pupils on and off school premises and during an extended school day (up to 6pm), including school trips, breakfast clubs, tuck shops, mid-morning break, vending machines and after school clubs.The relationships, sex and health education curriculum covers topics like body image and mental wellbeing and, at secondary level, teachers can choose to discuss eating disorders. In teaching RSHE, schools must have regard to the statutory guidance, available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1019542/Relationships_Education__Relationships_and_Sex_Education__RSE__and_Health_Education.pdf.To further build our understanding of eating disorders, the government is funding the Eating Disorders Genetic Initiative study with Kings College London and eating disorder charity, Beat, which aims to better understand what may lead to an eating disorder and how to improve the lives of patients.Since 2016, investment in children and young people's community eating disorder services has risen every year, with an extra £53 million per year from 2021/22. This will enhance the capacity of the 70 new or improved community eating disorder teams covering the whole of the country.We are providing more than £17 million this financial year to build on existing mental health support in schools and colleges. This includes £9.5 million to enable up to a third of schools and colleges to train a senior mental health lead as part of our commitment to fund training for leads in all schools and colleges by 2025.

Schools: Assessments

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of broadening the end of year assessment process for 16 and 18 years olds following the high level of disruption to education this year through both pupil and staff absence.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he plans to take to ensure equitable end of year assessments for children that may have experienced a high level of (a) school absence as a result of covid-19 and (b) disruption to learning as a result of covid-19-related staff absences.

Mr Robin Walker: We believe that exams are the best and fairest way of measurement. It is our firm intention that exams will go ahead this year. It is of great importance to give pupils the opportunity to sit their exams, and we have put measures in place to ensure they can do so fairly.The department recognises that pupils taking exams this year will have experienced disruption to their education caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. That is why, together with Ofqual, we consulted on and have confirmed a range of adaptations to GCSE and A/AS level exams, which take this disruption into account.GCSE, AS and A level pupils have been provided with advance information, published by exam boards on 7 February, on the focus of their exams in most subjects to support revision. Pupils will also benefit from other changes to exams, including choices of topic or content, and exam aids during the exam for some subjects at GCSE.Additionally, Ofqual has confirmed that 2022 will be a transition year for grading. Grades will be based around a mid-point between 2021 and pre-pandemic grades for GCSEs, AS and A levels, with results likely higher than pre-pandemic grades. This will provide a safety net for this year’s pupils.These adjustments, along with the changes to non-exam assessment and fieldwork, and Ofqual’s approach to grading, are designed to mitigate the impacts of the disruption that pupils have faced during the COVID-19 outbreak, without undermining the value of their qualifications and their ability to progress successfully to further study or employment.The department reformed GCSEs and A levels from 2011 to be in line with the highest performing education systems in the world. We have no current plans for further wholesale reform of GCSEs and A/AS levels.

Students: Gambling

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support students who have gambling addictions.

Michelle Donelan: As autonomous bodies, it is for higher education (HE) providers to determine what welfare and counselling services they need to provide to their students. They are not only experts in their student population but also best placed to identify the needs of their particular student body.The government strongly supports the Stepchange: Mentally Healthy Universities framework, calling on HE leaders to adopt mental health as a strategic priority. The government also supports The University Mental Health Charter, which outlines that effective services should be responsive to changes in need among their population, including specific issues such as addiction.We remain committed to preventing gambling-related harm and ensuring those experiencing it can access the right treatment and support whenever and wherever they need it. The NHS Long-Term Plan, published in July 2019, announced the creation of 15 specialist problem gambling clinics by 2023/24, with up to £15 million of funding over the same period. Work continues on the phased expansion of these services, enabling the NHS to explore how best to use existing treatment models to reach those most in need of support.The government and the Gambling Commission have also significantly raised requirements around age verification, banned gambling on credit cards, made online slots safer with a new game design code, mandated integration with Gamstop (the one-stop online self exclusion scheme) and introduced new rules on VIP schemesWe are also reviewing the Gambling Act to ensure it is fit for the digital age. A core objective of the review is to ensure effective protections are in place for the further protection of vulnerable groups, including children and young people. We are considering the evidence carefully and will publish a white paper outlining any conclusions and proposals for reform in due course.From September 2020, the subject of health education was made compulsory in all state-funded schools. This includes teaching young people about the risks relating to gambling, including the accumulation of debt.The NHS website offers support for those that are worried they may have a gambling problem, and outlines support: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/gambling-addiction/.

Schools: Protective Clothing

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has conducted an assessment into the impact on learning and mental health of mandatory mask policies in schools in (a) Wales and (b) Scotland.

Mr Robin Walker: Education and health are devolved matters, and each nation of the UK has its own guidance to support education providers. Therefore, approaches to face coverings for providers may differ in Northern Ireland, Wales, and Scotland. It will be for the Scottish and Welsh governments to respond regarding their assessment into the impact of face covering policies on the learning and mental health of pupils and students.

Schools: Flags

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has had discussions with relevant stakeholders on requiring schools in Wales to fly the St. David’s flag on St. David’s Day.

Mr Robin Walker: Education policy in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is a matter for the devolved administrations. Therefore, arrangements regarding Saint David’s Day for schools in Wales would be a matter for the Welsh government.Schools in England are free to display the national flag and it is a matter for individual schools to decide. Schools play an important role in preparing pupils for life in modern Britain, including supporting them to understand the society in which they grow up and develop their sense of British identity.

Special Educational Needs

Mark Eastwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Levelling Up White Paper published on 2 February 2022, if he will publish details of the provisions that will made available for pupils with special educational needs as a result of Kirklees having been included in an Educational Investment Area.

Will Quince: We are making over £100 million of funding available to support Education Investment Areas over the course of the Spending Review period. The Levelling Up White Paper, published on 2 February 2022, set out some of the support that will be available to schools in these areas. In these new Education Investment Areas, the department will offer retention payments to help schools keep the best teachers in the highest priority subjects. To drive up standards rapidly, schools in these areas that have been judged less than Good in successive Ofsted inspections could be moved into strong multi-academy trusts, to attract more support and the best teachers. This will be subject to a consultation in the spring. Our Schools White Paper will set out further details on the funding available to Education Investment Areas, as well our plans to make a wider programme of support available to a priority subset of these areas. The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Review will set out our plan to improve provision for children with SEND across England. It will be published in the first 3 months of 2022.

After School Clubs: Disability

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of provision for out of school provision for disabled children by City of York Council.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to help ensure that every child can access a local out of school provision services irrespective of the complexity of their care needs.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring local authorities to include the need for after-school provision in the education, health and care plans of disabled children.

Will Quince: Local authorities, including City of York council, have a statutory duty ensure there are sufficient childcare places for working parents in their area with children aged 0-14, or up to 18 for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Parents may contact their local Family Information Service who can give advice on childcare providers in their area: https://www.yor-ok.org.uk/families/FIS/family-information-service.html.We have prioritised these settings remaining open for all children, including those with SEND, throughout the COVID-19 outbreak and continue to encourage schools to offer this provision. The department has issued guidance to providers in this area to ensure they can continue to operate whilst reducing transmission of COVID-19, alongside accompanying guidance for parents and carers. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protective-measures-for-holiday-or-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-for-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-parents-and-carers-of-children-attending-out-of-school-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.Short breaks services for children with SEND, sometimes known as respite care, allow young people to develop skills, wider social networks and independence. They also give parents a much needed rest from caring responsibilities. That is why in April 2011 the government introduced a statutory duty for all local authorities to provide a range of short breaks to meet local needs. The duty also requires them to consult upon and publish a short breaks duty statement which sets out clearly what is available locally and how it can be accessed, including any eligibility criteria.Additionally, councils will be funded £30 million for the next three years to set up more than 10,000 additional respite placements, helping to provide positive opportunities for disabled children and young people.While it is for individual authorities to decide what level and type of short break support to offer, and to set their own eligibility criteria, they have received help from central government in meeting their statutory duties through an investment of £800 million between April 2011 and March 2015 in un-ringfenced grants. In each of 2011-12 and 2012-13, an additional £40 million in un-ringfenced capital funding was made available for short breaks to allow them to invest in additional equipment and infrastructure.

Social Services: Children

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of (a) his Department's total spend on the national assessment and accreditation system for children’s social workers since its introduction in 2018 and (b) how much will have been spent on that scheme by the time of its closure.

Will Quince: Since the introduction of the National Assessment and Accreditation System, the department estimates it will have spent around £29.5 million up to the end of financial year 2021-22. Around £12 million of this funding was provided directly to local authorities to support them in continuing to develop their workforce.As of March 2022, delivery of assessment and accreditation will stop while we work with the sector on developing a new sustainable delivery model.

Special Educational Needs

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the average waiting time for families to receive (a) an EHCP assessment and (b) for support to be put in place following initial referral in England, by region.

Will Quince: The department does not hold data on average waiting times for a needs assessment for an education, health and care plan (EHCP) or on the support which follows. The department does hold data on the number and percentage of EHCPs that are issued within the statutory 20 week timescale in the publication ‘Education, health and care plans’, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans.In the 2020 calendar year, 58% of EHCPs were issued within the 20 week timescale, excluding cases where exceptions apply.Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission continue with their full inspection programme and our team of special educational needs and disabilities advisers and colleagues in NHS England are continuing to provide support and challenge to help improve regional performance. Depending on the underlying issues that each region faces, such as those relating to EHCP assessments, we commission specialist and regional support from our delivery partners or facilitate/fund peer to peer support.

Pre-school Education: Coronavirus

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to support early years and childcare providers to help children catch up with missed learning and development that has been delayed as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of children entering school with speech and language difficulties or delay following the closure of early years settings during the covid-19 outbreak.

Will Quince: The department is investing in early years education recovery to address concerns around lost education. We do not have a current assessment of the number of children entering school with speech and language difficulties or delay. We will have updated data on communication and language development later this year.Improving training for early years practitioners is one of the key levers for driving up quality in early education settings, and language development is key to this.We are investing £180 million of recovery support in the early years sector. This includes £153 million for evidence based professional development for early years practitioners, including through new programmes focusing on key areas such as speech and language development for the youngest children, £10 million for a second phase of the Early Years Professional Development Programme in academic year 2021/22 (targeted to support early years staff in settings to work with disadvantaged children), and up to £17 million for the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI). NELI is a proven programme aimed at reception aged children needing extra support with their speech and language development and is proven to help children make around three months of additional progress. Two thirds of primary schools have signed up, the majority of these being schools with the highest levels of disadvantage, reaching an estimated 90,000 children.As part of our recovery strategy, we will also be significantly increasing the numbers of qualified level 3 special educational needs coordinators, to support better early identification and support of special educational needs and disabilities.

Nurseries: Finance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of public funding for nurseries.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of childcare funding for children attending nurseries for (a) 15 and (b) 30 hours.

Will Quince: We have spent over £3.5 billion in each of the past three years on our early education entitlements and the government will continue to support families with their childcare costs.At the Spending Review on 27 October 2021, we announced that we are investing additional funding for the early years entitlements worth £160 million in the 2022-23 financial year, £180 million in 2023-24 and £170 million in 2024-25, compared to the current year. This is for local authorities to increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers for the government’s free childcare entitlement offers and reflects cost pressures as well as anticipated changes in the number of eligible children. For 2022-23 we will increase the hourly funding rates for all local authorities by 21p an hour for the two-year-old entitlement and, for the vast majority of areas, by 17p an hour for the three- and four-year-old entitlement.The early years national funding formula has been designed to allocate our record investment in early years entitlement funding fairly and transparently across the country. We will continue to review the data underpinning the formula.

Nurseries: Pay

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of salaries of staff working in nurseries.

Will Quince: Research into early years provider finances based on the survey of childcare and early years providers 2019 sets out the most recent information available on staff hourly pay. This can be found in section 4.3 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/providers-finances-survey-of-childcare-and-ey-providers-2019. An updated finance report is due to be published in summer 2022.The latest survey of childcare and early years providers (2021) shows that almost a fifth (18%) of group-based provider staff aged 23 and over received less than the National Living Wage (NLW). Just over one in ten (12%) school-based provider staff received less than the NLW. The survey can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-providers-survey-2021.We acknowledge the concerns raised by the early years sector regarding workforce recruitment and retention, including the perceived impact of salary rates. We are working with the sector to build our understanding of the workforce situation, and how we might support providers in this area.

Nurseries: Special Educational Needs

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the impact of Maintained Nursery Schools funding on their ability to adequately support SEND children.

Will Quince: The government recognises that maintained nursery schools make a valuable contribution to improving the lives of some of our most disadvantaged children.At Spending Review on 27 October 2021, we announced that we are investing additional funding for the early years entitlements worth £160 million in financial year 2022-23, £180 million in 2023-24 and £170 million in 2024-25, compared to the current financial year. This is for local authorities to increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers, including maintained nursery schools, for the government’s free childcare entitlement offers and reflects cost pressures as well as anticipated changes in the number of eligible children.For 2022-23 we will increase the hourly funding rates for all local authorities by 21p an hour for the two-year-old entitlement and, for the vast majority of areas, by 17p an hour for the three- and four-year-old entitlement.The government has confirmed continuation of maintained nursery school supplementary funding throughout the Spending Review period, providing the sector with long-term certainty. For the 2022-23 financial year, we will increase the maintained nursery schools supplementary hourly funding rate by 3.5%, equivalent to the increase in the three- and four-year-old hourly funding rates.We also have a range of support for children with special educational needs (SEN). Specifically for early years, the early years national funding formula contains an additional needs element to take account of the number of three- and four-year-old children with additional needs in an area, and the SEN Inclusion Fund requires local authorities to work with providers to address the needs of individual children with SEN. We have also increased the value of the disability access fund which, for the 2022-23 financial year, will be at least £800 per eligible child per year.More generally, high needs funding for children and young people with complex needs is increasing in the next financial year 2022-23 by £1 billion to over £9.1 billion. This unprecedented increase of 13% comes on top of the £1.5 billion increase over the last two years and will continue to support local authorities and schools with the increasing costs they are facing. Local authorities are responsible for deciding how much of their high needs funding is spent on children under 5.

Department for Education: Nuffield Foundation

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish the details of any contract his Department has entered into with (a) Nuffield or (b) one of Nuffield associated companies that may allow the harvesting of personal data by those companies from families with children in schools in pursuing the completion of those contracts; and if he will make a statement.

Michelle Donelan: The Department for Education commercial records system has been checked and there are no records that show Nuffield Hospital as a supplier of goods or services to the department.All Department for Education contracts with an award value of £20,000 or greater are listed on Contracts Finder. Contracts Finder can be accessed here: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.

Teachers: Workplace Pensions

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to discourage employers in the independent schools sector from using dismissal and re-engagement to withdraw teachers from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme.

Mr Robin Walker: Independent schools participate in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme voluntarily and are therefore free to leave the scheme if they wish to do so. The way they manage such a move, with their teaching staff, is an employment matter rather than a pension related one. The department does not have any powers to interfere but does encourage encourage employers to consult with their staff appropriately, including over alternative pension arrangements, through the Teachers’ Pension Scheme administrator. Employers are also encouraged to take employment law advice before proceeding with moves to leave the scheme.The department has recently implemented new regulations, following engagement with the independent education sector, to support independent schools to continue in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme.

Education: Standards

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason Devon was not selected as one of the 55 Education Investment Areas despite ranking within the top 55 areas with the lowest Standardised KS2 and KS4 composite measure.

Mr Robin Walker: The methodology used to select Education Investment Areas (EIA) and Opportunity Areas (OA) is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-mobility-and-opportunity-areas.Areas selected as EIAs are the local authorities that are either: (i) in the bottom 50 ranked local authorities on key stage 2 and key stage 4 attainment; or (ii) contain an OA or areas previously identified for additional school improvement support. Devon was ranked 55 on this list, so was not included.

Education: Standards

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason local authorities with higher attainment outcomes designated as Opportunity Areas were chosen as Education Investment Areas ahead of local authorities with lower attainment outcomes.

Mr Robin Walker: The methodology used to select Education Investment Areas (EIA) and Opportunity Areas (OA) is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-mobility-and-opportunity-areas.EIAs were principally selected based on poor attainment across key stage 2 (KS2) and key stage 4 (KS4). To ensure the department’s approach to levelling up is consistent with existing policies to improve outcomes in specific places, EIAs also included any local authority which contains an existing OA or an area previously identified for additional school improvement support.Areas selected as EIAs are the local authorities that are either: (i) in the bottom 50 ranked local authorities on KS2 and KS4 attainment; or (ii) contain an OA or areas previously identified for additional school improvement support.

Free School Meals

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has plans to enable children on free school meals to roll over unspent monies on their prepaid cards in the context of the introduction of prepaid cards that will enable Healthy Start recipients to roll over unspent monies.

Will Quince: I refer the hon. Member for South Shields to the answer I gave on 7 February 2022 to Question 115924.

Arts: Vocational Education

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has regarding the inclusion of RSL vocational qualifications, specifically at levels 1 and 2, in future school and college performance measures; and if he will make a statement.

Alex Burghart: RSL Technical Award qualifications at levels 1 and 2 will count toward 2022 and 2023 performance tables.In autumn 2020, the department introduced a new approval process for technical awards. Only those technical qualifications that meet stretching requirements as outlined in the technical guidance and in Ofqual’s new qualification level conditions, and that have been reviewed by Ofqual and approved by the department, are recognised for the purposes of the 2024 key stage 4 performance tables alongside academic qualifications.In December 2021 the department published an interim list of qualifications approved for the 2024 key stage 4 performance tables, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-stage-4-qualifications-discount-codes-and-point-scores. The interim list is subject to an appeals process which is currently underway. As the appeals process is ongoing, the department is unable to comment on the inclusion of individual qualifications in the final list of performance table qualifications at this stage.There will be future opportunities for awarding organisations to submit qualifications for inclusion in performance tables for 2026 and beyond.

Schools: Coronavirus

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with Ofsted to ensure their forthcoming inspections take into account the disruption that the covid-19 outbreak has had on schools, teaching and pupils.

Mr Robin Walker: Ministers engage regularly with Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman, on a range of matters, including inspection arrangements in the changing context of the COVID-19 outbreak.Ofsted inspection continues to play an important role in providing independent assurance as providers respond to COVID-19. It is right that the arrangements are kept under review, and adjustments made where appropriate.Ofsted has updated its inspection handbooks and adjusted its inspection approach to take account of the challenges raised by COVID-19. From the start of the calendar year to 31 January, Ofsted temporarily halted use of part time inspectors who are also frontline leaders so they could focus on their leadership responsibilities.Additionally, schools facing acute disruption, including due to significant staff absence, can request a deferral of the inspection. Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector has confirmed that all requests will be considered carefully and sensitively by Ofsted.

Coronavirus: Students

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate his Department has made of the rate of covid-19 infections among Further Education and Higher Education student population.

Michelle Donelan: There are a number of different sources of data which are relevant to understanding the estimated rate of COVID-19 in student populations – including both detected case rates and estimated positivity.The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) publishes daily updates of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in their official COVID-19 dashboard. This covers all individuals, not only those attending further or higher education. By the most relevant available age breakdown:In the week to 28 January, the rate of cases for 15-19 year olds was 1,245.1 per 100,000 people (39,077 confirmed cases in 15-19 year olds in England, an increase from 36,392 cases the previous week).For 20–24 year olds during the same period, the rate was 859.1 per 100,000 people (29,834 cases in 20-24 year olds in England, a decrease from 31,143 cases the previous week).UKHSA also publishes confirmed cases of COVID-19 for various educational-aged cohorts, including those of sixth form age (years 12 and 13), and university age, and for people reporting attending university settings in their weekly national flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports. In the week ending 30 January, there were 12,115 cases in people reporting attending university, an increase from 9,845 the week ending 23 January.The Office for National Statistics Coronavirus Infection Survey estimates that in the week ending 29 January 2022, 4.13% of people in school year 12 (age 16/17) to age 24 would test positive for COVID-19. This is an increase from 3.81% in the week ending 22 January, but a decrease from 5.74% in the week ending 15 January.There is high vaccination uptake amongst higher education students. Survey data published in December 2021 show that 78% of students had received both vaccine doses, 12% had received one.All higher education institutions have an updated outbreak management plan, agreed with their local director of public health, and work closely with local health teams in the event of an outbreak at an institution. Further education providers have risk assessments in place and continue to implement in their settings the system of controls as outlined in the further education operational guidance (updated 19 January 2022) and the contingency framework for education and childcare settings (updated 21 January 2022). These documents can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-further-education-provision/further-education-covid-19-operational-guidance and here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-local-restrictions-in-education-and-childcare-settings.

Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Justice: Disability

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Part One of the National Disability Strategy, published July 2021, what recent steps his Department has taken to (a) encourage and support workplace disability networks, (b) achieve and maintain the highest level of Disability Confident accreditation, (c) ensure responsive and timely support to meet workplace adjustment needs and (d) develop and embed flexible working.

James Cartlidge: What recent steps their Department has taken on (a) encouraging and supporting workplace disability networks. The Ministry of Justice has a partnership agreement in place with Staff Networks. This sets out an overarching approach as to how MOJ staff support networks can operate effectively and how MOJ will provide support, advice and guidance. There are bi-monthly meetings in place between MoJ and staff networks. MoJ disability staff networks are members of our disability governance groups, and we encourage their participation to gain insight and to contribute to departmental work on disability. What recent steps their Department has taken on (b) achieving and maintaining the highest level of Disability Confident accreditation. The MoJ has been a Disability Confident (DC) Leader since 2017 and in March 2021 MoJ were successfully reaccredited as a DC Leader. The MoJ supported its Executive Agencies to become DC Leaders in March 2021 and will continue this activity. This recognised our commitment to make the most of the talents of disabled people and work to improve how we attract, recruit, retain and develop people with disabilities. To maintain this level of DC the MoJ is working with disabled colleagues and allies across the department to build a more inclusive and empowering workplace. This includes the provision of resources (e.g. policy, guidance, information and Staff Networks) and work is overseen by a Disability Action Group, established in 2021. What recent steps their Department has taken on (c) ensuring responsive and timely support to meet workplace adjustment needs. The department established a new in-house workplace adjustment service in 2021. The service provides advice and guidance to staff, managers and teams to help staff obtain and implement workplace adjustments in a timely manner. The department has made improvements to its intranet pages, guidance, and learning products, to build capability to meet workplace adjustment needs. Guidance was updated throughout the pandemic to provide continuity of workplace adjustments services. A new workplace adjustment online learning product has been made available, which enables employees to recognise when adjustments may be helpful and how to implement them. The MoJ have optimised and increased our dedicated Assistive Technology team to ensure responsive and timely workplace adjustment services are in operation across the organisation. What recent steps their Department has taken on (d) developing and embedding flexible working. In MoJ flexible working has been a useful tool to improve employees’ work life balance and wellbeing, whilst helping to attract and retain staff. HR Policies offer both formal and informal flexibility subject to business need and support flexible working across the department. Flexible working as a workplace adjustment can be key to enabling people with disabilities and carers to continue to work. The introduction of Smarter Working in 2015 embedded flexibility at the heart of our people offer. It brought people, workspace and technology together to help us be a more open, dynamic and modern organisation. The majority of our staff attended a place of work during the pandemic. We are continuing to embed flexibility as office-based staff return to MoJ buildings: we have issued practical guidance toolkits to support them make the most of hybrid working, taking into account the needs of their role and their individual circumstances.These arrangements are embedded through toolkits made available to staff, encouraging teams and individuals to discuss the working arrangements that will work for them in balance with business needs.

Courts: Criminal Proceedings

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps he has taken to tackle backlogs in the Crown Court.

James Cartlidge: As part of the Spending Review we announced that we will be investing £477 million in the Criminal Justice System over the next three years to help reduce the backlog and deliver the swift access to justice that victims deserve. We also invested a quarter of a billion pounds to support recovery in the last financial year, and this year we will provide over £150.5m for support services for victims and witnesses, rising to over £185m by 2024/25. We extended 32 Crown Nightingale courtrooms until the end of March 2022, and removed the limit on the number of days the Crown Court can sit this year. Our rapid roll out of video technology, which has equipped 70 per cent of all courtrooms with our Cloud Video Platform, enabled up to 20,000 cases to be heard virtually each week at the height of the pandemic. These measures are already working – the backlog in the Crown Court has reduced from around 61,000 cases in June 2021 to around 58,700 cases at the end of November 2021. We are now extending magistrates’ court sentencing powers from 6 to 12 months for a single Triable Either Way offence. This will provide vital additional capacity in the Crown Courts to drive down the backlog of cases over the coming years and is expected to free up an estimated 1,700 extra days of Crown Court time annually.

Sexual Offences: Convictions

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps he has taken to help improve conviction rates for rape and sexual assaults.

James Cartlidge: We are determined to make the criminal justice system far more sensitive to the needs of victims, and relentless in pursuing their perpetrators.To meet that aim, we are:on track to recruit 20,000 Police Officers by the end of Parliament. We have also recruited 500 new Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutors and trained 100 Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) specialists;rolling out Operation Soteria, a new investigatory model which focuses on the suspect’s, rather than the victim’s, behaviour;when the victim of rape gets to trial, we are giving them the option to pre-record their evidence (Section 28) so they are spared the ordeal of giving evidence under the glare of the courtroom;increasing funding for victim support services to £185 million by 2024/25, which will increase the number of Independent Sexual and Domestic Violence Advisors we fund to over 1,000;extending The Rape Support Fund until March 2023, to ensure support services have the funding stability they need to meet demand. Core funding for rape support centres through this fund has increased by 50% this financial year (21/22), from £8m to £12m per annum;introducing a single source of 24/7 support for victims of rape and sexual violence;introducing systematic and cultural change to ensure that victims feel supported through our Rape Review Action Plan; andour plans for a new Victims’ Law will make sure all victims have confidence that they will be listened to and supported at every step of the way.

Gender Based Violence and Sexual Harassment: Victim Support Schemes

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if the Government will develop an app to support women who have experienced sexual harassment or violence to provide advice and navigate them to support services.

Victoria Atkins: Rape and sexual violence are devastating crimes that can have life-long impacts on victims and survivors. This Government is committed to ensuring that every victim of rape and sexual assault will have access to quality support, appropriate to their needs, when they need it. This includes an increase to spending £185m per year on victim and witness services by 2025. As part of this funding picture, for the very first time, the Government is establishing a remote, national 24/7 Sexual Violence Support Service. This will be a free support service to victims aged 16 and over across England and Wales, operating 24 hours a day, 365 days per year delivered through a website, webchat function, online resources, and telephone helpline.

Reoffenders: Young People

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps he has taken to reduce reoffending rates among youths recently released from custody.

Victoria Atkins: The government is committed to tackling crime and anti-social behaviour that blight so many communities. In 2021/22, the Ministry of Justice is providing up to £82 million funding for local authorities’ youth offending teams in England and Wales, which have primary responsibility for managing children released from custody. This is an increase of 9% on 2020/21 funding. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation inspects each youth offending team, including on the effectiveness of its work to reduce reoffending by children who have been in custody. Inspection reports can be found at www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/.

Prisoners

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people there are in prison serving sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection; and how many of those people have served more than (a) three years, (b) five years and (c) ten years over their minimum tariff.

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people there are in prison serving sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection; and how many of those were given minimum tariffs of under (a) three and (b) five years.

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average length of time was between the end of a Imprisonment for Public Protection minimum tariff and a parole hearing in (a) 2018, (b) 2019, (c) 2020 and (d) 2021.

Kit Malthouse: The Ministry of Justice holds some of the data required, as follows. As of 31 December 2021, there were 1,602 prisoners serving a sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) in custody who have never been released. The number of prisoners serving sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection who have served more than: three years over their minimum tariff is 1,422; five years over their minimum tariff is 1,250; and ten years over their minimum tariff is 583.The number of prisoners serving an IPP sentence who were given a tariff of under 3 years was 584, and the number who were given a tariff of under 5 years was 1,076. By law the Secretary of State must refer a prisoner’s case to the Parole Board at the end of his minimum tariff period and, if not released, at least every two years from the previous Parole Board decision. The Parole Board is a body independent of Government and is responsible for the listing of cases referred to it. Ministers or officials may not intervene in this process. The data required to provide an answer on the average length of time between the end of a Imprisonment for Public Protection minimum tariff and a parole hearing in (a) 2018, (b) 2019, (c) 2020 and (d) 2021, could be provided only at disproportionate cost, as central data is not stored in a way that it can be filtered by the required fields.

Prison Officers: Training

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant of the Answer of 1 February 2022 to Question 112567 on Prison Officers: Training, how many prison staff (a) in total and (b) as a proportion of the total prison workforce have completed training to deal with terrorist or extremist prisoners.

Victoria Atkins: We rolled out the ASPECTS training programme in 2017 to help prison staff identify, report, and manage terrorist behaviour in prisons. a) As of 10 December 2021, 15,585 Band 2-5 members of operational staff had received ASPECTS training.The cumulative total of all attendees at an ASPECTS training session since 2017 is 45,437. However, this figure includes those who have since left the prison service, have undertaken the training more than once, HQ staff and those working in privately managed prisons. b) The answer as of December 2021 represents 68% of the Band 2-5 operational staff cohort currently deployed, comprising Operational Support Grades, Prison Officers, Supervising Officers and Custodial Managers. The Counter Terrorism Step Up programme will deliver a new comprehensive programme of counter terrorism training across HMPPS frontline staff, including a suite of tailored products, systematically delivered, and continually evaluated, to ensure all staff have the information and confidence to fully discharge their counter terrorism responsibilities.

Department for International Trade

Trade Promotion: Finance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much funding the Government has allocated to the (a) Internationalisation Fund and (b) UK Tradeshow Access Programme in (i) 2022 and (ii) each of the next three years; and if she will make a statement.

Mike Freer: During the current financial year of 21/22, £15.3m has been awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who have applied to the ERDF Internationalisation Fund. A further £16.0m of funding is available until the programme closes at the end of March 2023. The Exhibit element of the UK Tradeshow Programme was launched on 30th November 2021 and a budget of £1.5m up to the end of March 2022 has been allocated. The Department for International Trade is currently undergoing a Business Planning process so the budget allocation for 2022-23 has not yet been finalised. Proposals to support to SMEs to export from 2023-24 are being developed.

Engineering: Small Businesses

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department is taking to support UK small and medium enterprise engineering firms to reach a global market.

Mike Freer: The Department for International Trade’s (DIT) refreshed Export Strategy supports HM Government’s ambition to unlock innovation and growth across the UK. The Strategy focuses on barriers faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including engineering firms, helping them access opportunities in new markets. DIT is seeking SME chapters and SME-friendly provisions throughout all our Free Trade Agreements. British engineering SMEs can access support throughout their export journey from DIT’s Export Support Service, UK Export Academy, UK Export Finance and our global networks. Our Trade and Investment offices in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh bring support closer to business.

Arms Trade: Kazakhstan

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many (a) standard individual exports licenses and (b) open individual export licenses her Department has granted for arms exports to Kazakhstan since 2010.

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: I refer the hon. Lady to the answer I gave her on 7th February (UIN: 115939).

Trade Barriers

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to her Department's press release of 26 November 2021 entitled DIT removes 20 per cent more trade barriers to unlock major markets for British business, what assessment she has made of impact of the removal of trade barriers on levels of British trade in the last six months.

Penny Mordaunt: The Department for International Trade helped to remove 217 barriers in 2020/2021. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/market-access-barrier-statistics/market-access-barrier-statistics-financial-year-2020-to-2021 We continue to remove barriers and support businesses to benefit from the related trading opportunities. Recent successes include securing access for poultry meat to Japan, estimated to be worth £65million over the first 5 years of trade to farmers and producers across Britain.

Trade Agreements: Gulf States

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations between the UK and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations and the Human Rights Watch annual report published on 13 January 2022 which documented serious human rights violations in all GCC countries, what steps the Government plans to take to ensure that any FTA with the GCC does not risk facilitating ongoing human rights violations in those countries.

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: The Gulf Cooperation Council is a major trading partner of the United Kingdom, with an overall trade relationship worth £32.4 billion in 2020. HM Government has recently completed a consultation to hear the views of British businesses and the British people directly on a future trade deal with the GCC and will look carefully at the results. We are clear that more trade need not come at the expense of our values.

Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership: Intellectual Property

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether she will seek a complete carve out of audio-visual services from the intellectual property chapter of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement as part of her proposals to join that partnership; and if she will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether she will sign side letters with members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership to exclude the compulsory use of the Investor State Dispute Settlement Process as part of her proposals to join that partnership; and if she will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether she will negotiate a carve out from the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership on patent law so that the UK can maintain its membership of the European Patent Convention; and if she will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether she will seek to secure a special automotive carve out with Japan as part of accession talks to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership; and if she will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether she will propose reforms to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Code of Conduct for Investor State Dispute Settle proceedings during negotiations on accession to that partnership; and is she will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt: The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership is a pre-existing agreement signed by eleven countries and ratified by eight. It is not possible to re-write the agreement, because this is an accession process, not a brand-new free trade agreement negotiation The Government cannot comment on the sensitive detail of live negotiations; however, accession will only take place on terms beneficial to the UK.

Employment: Disability

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to Part One of the National Disability Strategy, published July 2021, what recent steps her Department has taken to (a) encourage and support workplace disability networks, (b) achieve and maintain the highest level of Disability Confident accreditation, (c) ensure responsive and timely support to meet workplace adjustment needs and (d) develop and embed flexible working.

Penny Mordaunt: The Department for International Trade (DIT) supports our Disability Network by delivering against shared priorities in the Inclusion Framework, focusing on recruitment, building capability and raising awareness. DIT and UK Export Finance’s (UKEF) level three (the highest level) Disability Confident accreditation was reaccredited in December 2020 and February 2021 respectively. To maintain the level 3 accreditation, DIT has developed Disability Confident training which is currently being rolled out.DIT and UKEF have workplace adjustment policies and have access to the Civil Service Workplace Adjustment Service (CSWAS), an Occupational Health provider and an in-house advisory team to ensure timely end-to-end support. The Department’s policies promote flexible working patterns (including Hybrid Working) to support individual needs, including disability-related adjustments and workplace adjustment passports.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Amal Nakhleh

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the reported deteriorating health condition of 18-year-old Amal Nakhleh who has been held in administrative detention by Israel since January 2021, if she will make representations to her Israeli counterpart to call for (a) the urgent provision of necessary healthcare for Amal’s autoimmune disease and for the treatment of covid-19 and (b) his immediate release.

James Cleverly: Officials from the British Embassy Tel Aviv raised Amal Nakhleh's case with the Israeli Ministry of Justice on 27 January. We remain committed to encouraging the Government of Israel to secure improvements to the practices surrounding the treatment of detainees, including access to essential healthcare, and regularly raise this with the Israeli Ministry of Justice.

Afghanistan: British Nationals Abroad

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2022 to Question 113244 on Afghanistan: British Nationals Abroad, what risk assessment his Department has carried out in relation to the safety of UK nationals who remained in Afghanistan following the conclusion of Operation Pitting on 28 August 2021.

James Cleverly: Our ability to conduct regular and accurate risk assessments is severely impeded by the fact that HMG has no presence in Afghanistan at this time. The analysis of the information we are able to gather is challenged by the fluid security and political situation on the ground in Afghanistan.The FCDO has also been assisting British Nationals to leave Afghanistan when safe options are available such as Qatar sponsored charter flights. We gather information from a range of sources before each evacuation flight with British Nationals on board to try to identify any specific risks, and these are assessed before deciding whether to offer seats to individuals.

Pakistan: Christianity

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Government of Pakistan on protecting the religious freedoms of Christians in Pakistan.

James Cleverly: The UK regularly raises our concerns about freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) and women and girls' rights at a senior level with the Government of Pakistan. During his visit to Pakistan on 23 and 24 June 2021, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia, met Prime Minister Khan, as well as other senior government ministers, and discussed our concerns. He met interfaith leaders to understand the situation of Pakistani minorities. Most recently, he discussed the need to promote respect for all religions with Governor of Punjab, Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar, on 28 November. In June, BHC Islamabad officials met the Pakistan Christian Forum Women's Fellowship, and in July visited Faisalabad, and met Christian religious leaders there. This was followed by a visit to Peshawar in September, where officials engaged with the Christian community there.The shocking murder of a Christian priest, and wounding of another, in late January in Peshawar was a disturbing indication of the violence faced by Pakistan's minorities, as was the brutal killing in Sialkot of a Christian Sri Lankan national last December. Lord Ahmad and the British High Commissioner have both publicly condemned these attacks, and the High Commissioner has raised with senior Government officials.

Saudi Arabia: Ansar Allah

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to support Saudi Arabia in response to the conflict with Houthi rebels.

James Cleverly: We have a close and longstanding relationship with Saudi Arabia. We condemn the Houthis' continual attacks on civilians in Yemen and their cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and we stand in solidarity with our Gulf partners. I [Minister Cleverly] discussed the escalating violence and the importance of protecting civilians with the Saudi Ambassador to Yemen on 26 January and with the Saudi Vice Foreign Minister on 27 January.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: NATO

Alicia Kearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress has been made on plans to increase the number of NATO staff in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

James Cleverly: The UK remains committed to ensuring peace and upholding international law in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). We support the NATO Headquarters in Sarajevo, including though the secondment of UK staff officers, who are building the capacity of the BiH Armed Forces. At the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Riga in December, the Foreign Secretary took part in discussions about how best to support stability in BiH. We are in close contact with our NATO colleagues who are actively working to increase staffing in BiH. Through NATO, as well as our bilateral relationship, the UK will continue to support BiH in implementing domestic reforms and tackling challenges to peace and security.

United Arab Emirates: Ansar Allah

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support she is offering to UAE in response to reported attacks from Houthi rebels.

James Cleverly: As set out by the Foreign Secretary and I [the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa] on 17 January, the UK condemns the recent attacks against the United Arab Emirates. We stand in solidarity with the UAE and are in contact with our Emirati partners via Ministerial and official channels and continue to offer our support.

Myanmar: Military Attachés

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she is taking steps to deport the Myanmar military attache loyal to the Burmese military regime from the UK.

Amanda Milling: The UK strongly condemns the military coup and the violence against the people of Myanmar. Any decision to declare a foreign diplomat "persona non grata" under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations would need careful consideration in view of the wider implications of such a decision.

United Arab Emirates: Ansar Allah

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential role of (a) the Muslim Brotherhood and (b) other Islamist extremist groups in Yemen in the recent Houthi attacks on the UAE.

James Cleverly: The UK condemns the recent missile and drone attacks on the UAE by the Houthis and the drone attacks claimed by the Iraq-based group Alwiyat al-Waad al-Haq. We are in close contact with our Emirati partners via Ministerial and official channels and continue to offer our support. Regional escalation of the conflict in Yemen must stop.

Hong Kong: Judges

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of effect of the use of British and Commonwealth judges in cases relating to the National Security Law in Hong Kong on the independence of the judiciary.

Amanda Milling: The National Security Law poses real questions for the rule of law in Hong Kong and the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms promised by China in the Joint Declaration.Our assessment of Hong Kong's judicial independence is increasingly finely balanced; it is therefore right that it is kept under review. It is essential that both the Hong Kong judiciary and Hong Kong's legal institutions are able to operate independently and free from political interference.

Myanmar: Human Rights

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Government funding is currently provided to Myanmar civil society organisations documenting Human Rights violations; and if she will increase funding to the human rights defenders and civil society organisations in Myanmar that are collecting evidence of the Myanmar military activities.

Amanda Milling: Since the military coup in February 2021 the UK has been working to protect the civic space, human rights and media freedom. This includes supporting human rights organisations to gather evidence of human rights violations across Myanmar, including around gender-based violence, as well as emergency funding to help journalists and media organisations continue their work in Myanmar. This year, the UK has provided over £1.5 million on human rights monitoring. This includes establishing Myanmar Witness; a human rights monitoring mechanism which collects and verifies open-source information on serious human rights violations and ensures there is a spotlight on the military's actions.

Europe: Human Rights

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the debate on Ending enforced disappearances on the territory of the Council of Europe, that took place at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 27 January 2022.

James Cleverly: The UK Government recognises the crucial work of the Council of Europe, and in particular Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, in ending enforced disappearances, noting that recommendations will go to the Committee of Ministers for appropriate review in due course. We strongly condemn any instances of this criminal practice and urge states to fully investigate allegations, prosecute those responsible and deliver justice to victims and their families.

Jerusalem: Palestinians

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government has taken steps in response to the case of the Palestinian Sumarin Family in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Silwan.

James Cleverly: The UK Government raises the issue of demolitions, confiscations and forced evictions of Palestinians from their homes with the Government of Israel. Our British Embassy Tel Aviv did most recently with Israel's Ministry of Defence on 20 January and Ministry of Justice on 27 January. Such evictions cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians; and, in all but the most exceptional of cases, are contrary to International Humanitarian Law.

Europe: Security

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the debate on Recent challenges to security in Europe: what role for the Council of Europe, that took place at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe meeting on 27 January 2022.

James Cleverly: The Government is committed to addressing the range of security challenges across Europe, including in Belarus and the Russian military build-up in and around Ukraine's borders. We recognise the crucial work of the Council of Europe in building peace and dialogue between member states and in addressing any 'democratic backsliding' in the region. We understand that any recommendations from the debate will go to the Committee of Ministers for review in due course.

Afghanistan: British Nationals Abroad

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2022 to Question 113244 on Afghanistan: British Nationals Abroad, what the Government's policy is on the repatriation of all UK nationals who remain stranded in Afghanistan.

James Cleverly: We continue to work with Qatar, and other regional countries, to ensure those still in Afghanistan are able to depart the country safely if they wish to do so. This includes holding the Taliban to their commitment to ensure safe passage.Commercial flight operations to regional capitals have restarted at a small number of airports in Afghanistan. We advise British nationals to take account of any safety notices published by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) when considering whether to use an air carrier.British nationals in Afghanistan can contact consular staff by phone, and consular assistance is available at embassies and high commissions in third countries.

Karim Younes and Maher Younes

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 11 July 2017 to Question 3584 on Karim and Maher Younes, what representations the Government has made to the Palestinian Authority the naming of town squares in Jenin and Tulkarem after Karim Younes and Maher Younes respectively; and what assessment she has made of the impact of those representations on the decision not to rename those town squares.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 23 July 2019 to Question 277622 on Dalal Mughrabi and Omar Abu Laila, what representations the Government has made to the Palestinian Authority on the naming of youth summer camps after Dalal Moughrabi and Omar Abu Laila; and what assessment she has made of the impact of those representations on the decision not to rename those youth summer camps.

James Cleverly: Our partnership with the Palestinian Authority includes a commitment from the Palestinian leadership to adhere to the principle of non-violence and to tackle any language and actions that could incite violence or hatred. We continue to urge the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships to avoid engaging in, or encouraging, any type of action and language that makes it more difficult to achieve a negotiated solution to the conflict.

USA: Nationality

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with the American Embassy on the reasons for which it has not reinstated the service of renouncing a citizenship.

James Cleverly: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials have spoken to the US Embassy in London on this matter. The Embassy said they are not able to provide a timeline as to when this service will resume, but they will update their website as soon as they know. Officials will continue to raise this where appropriate.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Disability

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to Part One of the National Disability Strategy, published July 2021, what recent steps her Department has taken to (a) encourage and support workplace disability networks, (b) achieve and maintain the highest level of Disability Confident accreditation, (c) ensure responsive and timely support to meet workplace adjustment needs and (d) develop and embed flexible working.

Vicky Ford: The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has a number of enthusiastic workplace disability networks. They are the Disability Inclusion and Awareness Network; Parents for Children with Disabilities; Cancer Support Network; Mental Health Wellbeing and Listening Network and FCDO Carers. The value of the networks is recognised in the FCDO. We encourage those who play key roles to include this as part of their performance objectives. The FCDO Board consults with staff networks to understand and address issues faced by different groups of employees.Building on the accreditations of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development, the FCDO secured accreditation as a Disability Confident Leader in July 2021. We do not take this accreditation for granted and sense checked our application with our networks to ensure it reflected the lived experience of our employees.The support offer for our employees on workplace adjustments is set out in the Diversity and Inclusion section of the FCDO Annual Report and Accounts 2020-2021, found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1019938/FCDO_annual_report_and_accounts_2020_to_2021_accessible.pdf.Flexible working is encouraged for all employees, including those with disabilities and long term conditions, and we offer flexible working as a default in job adverts. Hiring managers are required to justify any opt out from offering flexible working.

Nnamdi Kanu

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership Inaugural Dialogue Communique, published on 2 February 2022, whether the case of Nnamdi Okwu Kanu was raised during this Security and Defence Partnership dialogue.

Vicky Ford: As part of the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership Dialogue, I spoke with Nigerian Government representatives about a range of issues, including the case of Mr Kanu.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Violence

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support she is offering to (a) the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, (b) local civil society organisations and (c) humanitarian agencies and NGOs in that country to (i) tackle the drivers of recent violence in Ituri province, (ii) provide security for people in IDP camps and other highly vulnerable groups in Ituri province and (iii) tackle the humanitarian consequences of recent attacks on IDP camps in Ituri province.

Vicky Ford: The UK has condemned the recent attack on Plaine Savo Internally Displaced People (IDP) site in Ituri, including through a UN Security Council Press Statement. The attack exacerbates an already severe humanitarian situation: due to violent attacks by armed groups, at least 864,000 people were displaced in Ituri in 2021 and over half the province's population suffer from acute food insecurity.As one of the largest humanitarian donors, the UK has been providing life-saving support to tens of thousands of affected people in Ituri through our funding to UN, NGO and Red Cross partners. This support includes cash transfers, emergency water and sanitation, family tracing and reunification, and sensitising armed actors to their responsibilities under international humanitarian law. We are engaging directly with MONUSCO, the UN peacekeeping mission, on ways to improve the protection of civilians in Ituri province. The UK is also assisting efforts to reduce violence and build stability in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), including by working with civil society, the DRC Government and MONUSCO to address the drivers of conflict, demobilise armed groups and support dialogue and conflict resolution mechanisms between local communities.

Guinea-Bissau: Politics and Government

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to support (a) the Government of Guinea-Bissau, (b) ECOWAS and (c) the African Union in preventing further coup attempts following the events of 1 February 2022.

Vicky Ford: The UK is concerned by the attempted coup d'etat on 1 February in Guinea-Bissau and I am glad to see that calm has been restored.Please refer to my answer given on 31 January to question 111656 that addresses our support to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union in their mediation efforts. The UK is watching regional developments closely and remains committed to supporting democratic institutions in West Africa.

Sudan: Politics and Government

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps the Government has taken in response to the political situation in Sudan.

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to support the pro-democracy movement in Sudan.

Vicky Ford: We remain concerned at the political crisis and continued violent repression of protesters in Sudan following the 25 October coup. Following the resignation of Abdallah Hamdok as Prime Minister the Troika (UK, Norway, US) and EU issued a statement on 4 January, urging all sides to engage in dialogue. We therefore welcome that the UN are facilitating talks and with our Sudan Quad (UK, Saudi Arabia, UAE and US) partners released a statement on 8 January urging all political actors to seize this opportunity.Since the coup, British Embassy staff in Khartoum, the UK Special Representative to Sudan and South Sudan and other FCDO officials have engaged with all parties to encourage dialogue and demonstrate support for the democratic transition. We have also consistently called for an end to detentions and media infringements, and for Sudanese people to be able to protest without fear of violence. This includes through statements the Foreign Secretary and I have made, and in international fora such as the UN Security Council and G7 Foreign and Development Ministers meeting. With our international partners we will continue to show our support for a return to the democratic transition and maintain pressure on the Sudanese military to deliver people's demands for freedom, peace and justice.

Ministry of Defence

Satellite Communications: Procurement

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the next steps are for the Skynet 6 Enduring Capability programme; and when a timeline for that programme will be published.

Jeremy Quin: The Enduring Capability requirement consists of two elements: the satellites and the ground-based infrastructure.  We continue to refine the Enduring Capability satellite requirement and procurement approach in light of the Defence and Security Industrial Strategy and the Defence Space Strategy. As part of this refinement, we will undertake further industry engagement which will inform the satellite programme timeline. The exact timings for the ground-based elements are dependent on the final agreements reached on the preceding ground and flight control provision programme (the Service Delivery Wrap which is currently being competed).

Ministry of Defence: Veterans

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces veterans have been employed by the civil service in his Department in each year since 2010.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces veterans have been employed by the civil service in his Department in each year since 2010.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the number of armed forces veterans employed by the civil service in each year since 2010.

Leo Docherty: This information is not held in the format requested. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not collect or hold information on all veterans and cannot say where veterans of the Armed Forces take up employment post service. The MOD does not routinely maintain a record of an employee’s prior employment. However, the Government have successfully piloted the Great Place to Work scheme across six government Departments which includes Defence and have commenced the roll out of this initiative across Departments for all Civil Service roles, including Senior Civil Servant positions by the end of March 2022. During the pilot phase, 928 veterans applied to the Ministry of Defence under the Great Place to Work for Veterans scheme within the nine-month early adopter phase, of which 338 were offered an interview, 105 offered a job. To date 33 are known to have accepted and started in a post.

Ministry of Defence: Veterans

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many veterans applied to his Department using the civil service great place to work scheme over the nine month pilot; and how many of those applicants (a) received an interview, (b) were offered a job and (c) went on to accept a role and begin work.

Leo Docherty: 928 veterans applied to the Ministry of Defence under the Great Place to Work for Veterans scheme within the nine-month early adopter phase, of which 338 were offered an interview, 105 offered a job. To date 33 are known to have accepted and started in a post.

Defence Infrastructure Organisation

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the annual budget was for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, in each year since 2010.

Jeremy Quin: The annual budget for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) in each financial year (FY) since 2010 can be found in the table below:  YearTotal Budget £ millionFY2010-111,847.5FY2011-123,210.8FY2012-133,431.9FY2013-143,834.7FY2014-153,564.2FY2015-162,917.0FY2016-173,200.9FY2017-183,420.2FY2018-19846.8FY2019-20864.4FY2020-21920.9FY2021-22942.6 The increase in budget between FY2010-11 and FY2011-12 was due to the transfer of infrastructure related budgets from the Single Services (e.g. Army, Royal Navy, Air Force) to the DIO. The reduction in budget between FY2017-18 and FY2018-19 was due to infrastructure related budgets being delegated back to the Single Services to enhance their decision making freedoms as regards infrastructure.

Armed Forces: Housing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much money his Department has spent on litigation in respect of failures to upgrade military accommodation and housing in each year since 2010.

Jeremy Quin: Departmental records show there has been no money spent on litigation in respect of failures to upgrade military accommodation and housing since 2010.

Ministry of Defence: Social Media

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spends on its online social media feeds.

Leo Docherty: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) maintains social media profiles with Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin. A complete list of these channels are available via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-defence/about/social-media-use These feeds are not a chargeable service and so are free for the MOD to access and update.

Army Reserve: Training

Mr Richard Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Minister for Defence People and Veterans' oral contribution of 2 February 2022, Official Report, column 421, what the total liability of the Army Reserve was, excluding those personnel undergoing phase 1 training, prior to the reorganisation, broken down by (a) the Army, (b) Strategic Command, (c) the Royal Navy, (d) the RAF and (e) other.

Mr Richard Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Minister for Defence People and Veterans' oral contribution of 2 February 2022, Official Report, column 421, what the total liability is of the Army Reserve, excluding those personnel undergoing phase 1 training, under future plans, broken down by (a) the Army, (b) Strategic Command, (c) the Royal Navy, (d) the RAF and (e) other.

James Heappey: The Army Reserve trained workforce requirement now, and in 2032, can be found at the table below: Top Level Budget (TLB)Present (January 2022) Future (January 2032)Army30,22027,100UKStratCom1,2901,290Navy180180Air~~Head Office~~ These figures are subject to change pending any potential future TLB review. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10, and any figures below 10 have been replaced with a ~ to prevent individuals from being identified.

Cameroon: Armed Conflict

Claudia Webbe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place in the Library a copy of the exchange of notes that provides for UK jurisdiction and carriage of weapons in the far north of Cameroon.

James Heappey: It is not Ministry of Defence policy to disclose our arrangements with other nations.

Cameroon: Military Aid

Claudia Webbe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost is of the training facility the UK is currently building in Salak for Cameroon's Battalion d’Intervention Rapide; and who is paying for that facility.

James Heappey: The UK has been providing training to the Battalion d'Intervention Rapide (BIR) since 2018. Since January 2021, we have been training the BIR in Salak in the Far North of Cameroon. In the last financial year, all capacity building cost £1.365 million, including the cost of the training village in Salak (£250,000).

United Arab Emirates: Ansar Allah

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the origin of the weapons recently deployed by the Houthis against the UAE.

James Heappey: We believe the weapons originate from Iran. We have serious concerns regarding Iran's destabilising activity around the Middle East, including continued transfer of missiles and other weapon systems to armed groups, such as the Houthis in Yemen, in violation of UNSCR 2216. We urge all parties to engage with the UN led peace process.

Cameroon: Military Aid

Claudia Webbe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the UK is building a security training facility near Yaounde in Cameroon.

James Heappey: The UK is building a bespoke military skills facility in Yaounde, which enables us to deliver more effective training tailored to those operating in the Far North of Cameroon.

Department for Work and Pensions

Children: Maintenance

Dr Kieran Mullan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to increase collection rates of child maintenance payments.

Guy Opperman: The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) take rigorous action to collect maintenance, combining robust negotiation activity with the highly effective use of its extensive range of Enforcement Powers. This approach is driven by the Payment Compliance strategy increasing CMG compliance influencing activities to tackle non-paying cases and challenge non-compliant behaviours.CMS have worked in partnership with Courts and Enforcement Agents following the restrictions on Enforcement activity during the initial phase of the pandemic in 2020 to quickly return to normal operating practice.During the quarter ending September 2021 £47.4 million was paid through the Collect & Pay service compared to the quarter ending December 2019 where £44.1 million was paid before the impact of the pandemic took effect. (Source – National Tables – table five ‘Money Due and Paid each quarter’ January 2015 to September 2021).There has been a consistent downward trend in the proportion of unpaid maintenance as a proportion of maintenance arranged since 2017, falling from 12.5% in 2017 to 8.5% in September 2021 (Source – National Tables - table six ‘ how much maintenance CMS has arranged March 2015 to September 20).

Employment: Young People

Dr Kieran Mullan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support her Department provides to young jobseekers.

Mims Davies: The Plan for Jobs provides a comprehensive package of support for young people, including the Youth Offer and Kickstart. The Kickstart scheme is dedicated to helping 16 to 24-year olds at risk of long-term unemployment develop their skills and experience through fully funded six-month jobs. As of January, over 130,000 Kickstart jobs have been started by young people.We are extending the DWP Youth Offer to 2025 and have expanded eligibility to include 16 and 17-year olds, in addition to 18 to 24-year olds, who are claiming Universal Credit and searching for work. The Youth Offer currently provides intensive work search support through the Youth Employment Programme, specialised Youth Employment Coaches for young people with additional barriers to work, and over 160 Youth Hubs across England, Scotland and Wales. DWP is delivering a comprehensive package of support for young people in collaboration with the Department for Education and National Careers Service in England, the devolved administrations, and other partners.

Jobcentres: Armed Forces

Dr Kieran Mullan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress is being made by the work of Armed Forces Champions in jobcentres.

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the progress of the work of Armed Forces Champions in job centres.

Mims Davies: DWP’s network of 50 Armed Forces Champions and 11 Group Leads provide vital support to veterans and other members of the armed forces community, including providing additional help to get veterans in to work. Since the new model was introduced in April 2021 it has been well received by stakeholders.

Low Pay

Dr Kieran Mullan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support progression out of low pay.

Mims Davies: From April 2022 onwards, the Government will be enhancing its support to working claimants across Great Britain. Approximately 1.7 million working Universal Credit claimants across every Jobcentre, will be able to access Work Coach support to address any skills or wider barriers to progression. We will also appoint specialist Progression Champions who will make connections between employers, local authorities, and skills providers.

Employment

Dr Kieran Mullan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps work coaches are taking to get people who have been out of work for an extended period back into work.

Mims Davies: DWP offers significant support to unemployed people across Great Britain to access employment opportunities through our network of Jobcentres. Our Work Coaches engage with claimants on the basis of their individual need to provide support on finding a job, help with retraining or skills advice, job applications and access to the new vacancies, as well as signposting to our Jobhelp website. Through our Plan for Jobs, the Department is providing broad ranging support for all jobseekers. Currently, support includes the Kickstart Scheme, Sector Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAP), Job Entry Targeted Support and Restart. The Restart Scheme supports individuals who have been unemployed for at least 9 months and through regular, personalised support, providers work with participants to identify the best way to support them into sustained employment. In addition, the Work and Heath Programme, and Intensive Personalised Employment Support, is available to support to support disabled people and people with long term health conditions, to enter and stay in work.

Employment Schemes: Disability

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department will take to ensure that the intensive one-on-one support as part of the Way to Work campaign will be tailored to the individual needs of any person with complex disabilities who receives it.

Mims Davies: The Department for Work and Pension’s ‘Way to Work’ campaign is a step-change in our approach to supporting claimants and employers. This approach recognises that the benefits of a job are clear, both financially and for the wellbeing of claimants. As now, not all claimants will be required to look for work. Claimants with a health condition or disability will continue to have tailored commitments based on their personal circumstances, including considering the impact of their health and wider situation. This may include setting work search activity if that is appropriate for the claimant. We do not, however, expect claimants with a current “Fit Note” to start work until it expires, or they are assessed as part of a Work Capability Assessment. The Work and Health Programme provides a contracted employment scheme for people with a disability, or who are long term unemployed and seeking employment. We also have our Intensive Personalised Employment Support (IPES) programme for people with a disability who also have complex barriers to employment and are further away from work. Finally, our Work Coaches can offer additional support through advice and services. For those with a disability this could include Access to Work and the Flexible Support Fund which provide personalised support to enable disabled people and those with a health condition to move into or keep employment.

Employment

Dr Kieran Mullan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking help people who lost their jobs during the covid-19 outbreak back into work.

Mims Davies: The Department for Work and Pensions is committed to supporting everyone who has been affected by the unprecedented impact of COVID-19. We want everyone who is able to work to find a job, progress in work and thrive in the labour market. Throughout the pandemic the UK Government has provided over £400 billion to support the economy, including funding for the Plan for Jobs. The Kickstart scheme to date has provided over 130,000 young people with Kickstart jobs, with many of these securing permanent employment. Alongside this, the Restart Scheme offers a fresh start to those who have been unemployed for over 9 months. The scheme breaks down employment barriers that could potentially prevent jobseekers from finding work. Way to Work is a new concerted national drive to help half a million people currently out of work into jobs by the end of June 2022, supporting them to take their next step to building a more secure and prosperous future. While we have more people on company payrolls than before the pandemic, latest figures show there are around 1.2 million vacancies across the economy, including many in key sectors.

Poverty: Children

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Government has made of the implications for its policies of the findings of Action for Children’s Coronavirus during Childhood report, published in October 2020.

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government has a strategy for tackling child poverty.

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government has a cross-departmental strategy to reduce child poverty.

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues about the potential merits of creating a dedicated Minister for tackling child poverty.

David Rutley: We have not made any specific assessment of the implications of the findings of Action for Children’s report on the Department’s policies. This Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling child poverty and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions continues to lead cross-Government action to ensure a co-ordinated approach to supporting low-income households. DWP’s published Outcome Delivery Plan, places addressing poverty through enabling progression in the workforce and increasing financial resilience at the heart of its mission.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Dr Kieran Mullan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to tackle fraudulent activity by people seeking to exploit the benefits system.

David Rutley: The Department takes fraud against the benefits system very seriously and has taken huge steps to reduce and minimise fraud and error during the last 18 months, at a time when the Department processed an additional 3 million new Universal Credit claims as part of our response to the pandemic. This has seen us: Expand our Integrated Risk and Intelligence Service, which coordinates the detection of, and response to, fraud risk from organised crime groups seeking to exploit the benefit system. Invest £44m into the Integrated Risk and Intelligence Service to expand the pre-payment ‘risking’ techniques and maintain the new Enhanced Checking Service for high risk claims. Revisit over 900,000 high risk claims paid during the early period of Covid-19, generating approximately £400m in savings. We secured an additional £613m, which will enable a targeted review of Universal Credit claims and lead to even greater investment in advanced analytics and our Serious and Organised Crime team.

Poverty: Children

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Government has made of the impact of increasing the child element of universal credit on reducing child poverty.

David Rutley: It is not possible to produce a robust estimate of the impact of increasing the child element of universal credit on child poverty. Projecting the impacts of policies on poverty involves projecting forward the impact of the pandemic on every household’s income which is not possible to do with confidence, not least because the latest comprehensive data on net incomes for households is from 2019-20, before the pandemic began.

Cost of Living and Inflation: Low Incomes

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Government has made of the impact of rising inflation and cost of living on low-income families with children.

David Rutley: The Government is providing £12 billion of support to ease cost of living pressures, with help targeted at working families, low-income households and the most vulnerable. A further £9 billion has been announced to protect against the impact of rising global energy prices.

Child Poverty Unit

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits of reinstating the cross-departmental Child Poverty Unit, that was jointly sponsored by her Department, HM Treasury and the Department for Education, and was abolished in 2017.

David Rutley: A key function of the previous Child Poverty Unit was to support the delivery of the child poverty targets that we abolished in 2016, which we have no plans to reintroduce. We believe that an approach to tackling child poverty focused primarily on meeting income-based targets can drive action that focuses primarily on moving the incomes for those ‘just in poverty’ just above a ‘poverty line’ whilst doing nothing to help those on the very lowest incomes or to improve children’s future prospects. Ministers and officials engage extensively across Government to ensure a coordinated approach to tackling poverty and we will we continue to do so in the future.

Poverty: Children

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Government has made of the effect of increasing benefits in line with living costs on levels of child poverty.

David Rutley: The Secretary of State undertakes an annual review of benefits and pensions based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation in the year to September, as has been the case since April 1987. This Government is committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income families, and believes work is the best route out of poverty. Our approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment - particularly where it is full-time – in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for families and children. In 2019/20, children in households where all adults were in work, were around six times less likely to be in absolute poverty (before housing costs) than children in a household where nobody works. Compared with 2010, there were almost 1 million fewer workless households and almost 580,000 fewer children living in workless households in the UK in September 2021. We are giving the lowest earners a pay rise by increasing the National Living Wage by 6.6% to £9.50 from April 2022, and making permanent changes to Universal Credit, worth £1000 a year on average, to two million in-work claimants. With Our multi-billion-pound Plan for Jobs, which has been expanded by £500 million and the new 'Way to Work’ campaign is a national drive to get half a million people who are out of work into jobs in the next five months. We recognise that some people require extra support over the winter, which is why vulnerable households across the country are now able to access a £500 million support fund to help them with essentials. The Household Support Fund provides £421 million to help vulnerable people in England with the cost of food, utilities and wider essentials. The Barnett Formula applies in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving almost £80 million. The Barnett Formula will apply in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving almost £80 million (£41m for the Scottish Government, £25m for the Welsh Government and £14m for the NI Executive), for a total of £500 million. To support low income families further, we have increased the value of Healthy Start Food Vouchers to £4.25, helping eligible low income households buy basic foods like milk, fruit and vitamins. We are also investing over £200m a year from 2022, to continue our Holiday Activities and Food programme which is already providing enriching activities and healthy meals to children in all English Local Authorities.

Employment: Pregnancy

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what formal enforcement action has been taken by the Health and Safety Executive against employers for breaching health and safety regulations in relation to new and expectant mothers since 24 September 2020.

Chloe Smith: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) uses a range of enforcement tools to ensure compliance with health and safety legislation from advice through to enforcement notices and prosecution. HSE adopts the appropriate intervention techniques to regulating workplace health and safety legislation. There have been no improvement or prohibition notices issued or prosecutions taken since 24 September 2020 in relation to new and expectant mothers.

Employment: Pregnancy

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to work with unions and industry groups to prepare example individual risk assessments for pregnant women and new mothers in different roles indicating the circumstances in which women should be suspended on full pay under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Chloe Smith: Employers know their workplace and associated risks the best, and should discuss the individual circumstances with new and expectant mothers who work for them. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides guidance to employers on managing risk and how to complete a risk assessment for their business (Protecting new and expectant mothers at work - Risk assessment (hse.gov.uk)). This guidance includes examples of common risks faced by new and expectant mothers. It also explains what to do if significant risks cannot be controlled, and where suspending workers on full pay may be appropriate. HSE is working with unions and industry groups to ensure this guidance is up to date.

Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2022 to Question 103609 on Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations, whether a new contract has been awarded following the expiry of the contract with Advanced Personnel Management Group (UK) Ltd on 11 December 2020.

Chloe Smith: On 07 December 2020 and 08 December 2021, the Department invoked twelve-month extension options contained within the Additional Healthcare Capacity Services contract with APM (UK) Ltd. The extended contract will end on 11 December 2022. The Department is currently considering options for future clinical capacity needs beyond this contract.

Employment: Pregnancy

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many calls the Health and Safety Executive public advice line has received in relation to new and expectant mothers in the workplace since it was reinstated during the covid-19 outbreak.

Chloe Smith: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has operated a concerns and advice telephone service since before the covid-19 pandemic. Concerns can also be submitted online. Over the last five financial years and current year to date, the total number of concerns reported to HSE related to the terms ‘pregnant’, ‘pregnancy’ and ‘new mother’ are: Financial YearPregnancy/New mother RelatedTotal Concerns Received% of total16/1716722,4970.74%17/1815626,5070.59%18/1914629,4760.50%19/2017332,4900.53%20/2128246,1030.61%21/YTD10419,9040.52%

Universal Credit: Coronavirus

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether virtual assessments will remain in-place for universal credit applicants who are classified as clinically extremely vulnerable.

Chloe Smith: We are currently delivering health assessments through a variety of channels including face-to-face, and telephone and video assessments introduced in response to the pandemic. Whenever possible we will conduct a paper-based assessment. Any future decisions about assessment methods will be evidence-based and to ensure this we will draw on existing evidence as well as research and analysis.

Personal Independence Payment

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the target clearance time is for personal independence payments.

Chloe Smith: There is no target time for claims to be cleared. We always aim to make an award decision as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to review all available evidence, including that from the claimant.

Employment: Disability

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support disabled people into the workforce.

Chloe Smith: A range of DWP initiatives are supporting disabled people and people with health conditions to start, stay and succeed in employment. These include the Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme, the Work and Health Programme, Disability Confident and support in partnership with the health system, including Employment Advisers in NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services. Last year we published three major documents: Shaping Future Support: The Health and Disability Green Paper; the response to the Health is Everyone’s Business consultation on minimising the risk of ill-health related job loss; and the National Disability Strategy. These together form our holistic approach and vision for supporting disabled people and people with health conditions to live independent lives.

Employment: Disability

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions her Department has had with the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to encourage employers to improve support for applicants and employees with complex disabilities.

Chloe Smith: My officials regularly engage with BEIS on work that will improve employer support for applicants and employees with complex disabilities. This follows on from the Health Is Everyone's Business Consultation Response, which DWP and DHSC published jointly last year. The response set out the measures we will take to protect and maintain progress made to reduce ill-health related job loss and see 1 million more disabled people in work from 2017 to 2027. The measures in the Response provide greater clarity around employer and employee rights and responsibilities; address the need for employers to have access to clear and compelling information and advice; and encourage more employers to provide access to expert support services such as Occupational Health. DWP is currently developing a new digital service to provide employers with better-tailored and integrated information, and BEIS is involved in the development of this service. A range of DWP initiatives are supporting disabled people and people with health conditions to live independent lives and start, stay and succeed in employment. These include the Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme, Access to Work, Supported Internships, Disability Confident and support in partnership with the health system, including Employment Advice in NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services.In particular, Access to Work is a demand-led, discretionary grant scheme that helps to remove the risks of the recruitment and retention of disabled people for employers by contributing towards covering the costs of employment –related support above the level of reasonable adjustment. Access to Work provides employees with grants of up to £62,900 per year to cover workplace adaptations such as special equipment, support workers, and help getting to and from work. In 2020/21 35,990 disabled people and people with health conditions received tailored and flexible support to do their job from Access to Work.

Surgery: Waiting Lists

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support people who are temporarily unable to work due to delays in treatment caused by the NHS's backlog in elective surgery.

Chloe Smith: People who have low, or no, income or earnings and are unable to work due to having a health condition or disability, can claim Universal Credit. This includes people who are unable to work pending treatment, including elective surgery. Claimants are required to provide medical evidence, most commonly a fit note, to support their claim of being unable to work. After four weeks the claimant will be referred for a work capability assessment (WCA). A WCA is a functional assessment of what a claimant can do as well as what they cannot do. WCAs are undertaken by DWP’s contracted healthcare provider. The outcome of the WCA is used by a DWP decision maker to decide if the claimant:has limited capability for work (LCW) orhas limited capability for work and work related activity (LCWRA), oris fit for work. Claimants who are determined to have LCW or LCWRA have:a work allowance, andin couple claims where one is working, access to help with childcare costs. Those who are determined to have LCWRA are entitled to the award of an additional amount of benefit – the LCWRA addition – which is £343.63 per month. Universal Credit also includes additions to provide support, where eligible, for housing costs, children and childcare costs and support for carers. People who are sick and unable to work may also be eligible for Employment and Support Allowance, subject to satisfying the National Insurance contributions’ eligibility conditions.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the change to conditionality outlined on 27 January 2022 will affect her Department’s proposal to introduce a new approach to conditionality for disabled people and people with health conditions claiming out-of-work benefits, as set out in her Department’s recent Health and Disability Green Paper.

Chloe Smith: The Department for Work and Pension’s ‘Way to Work’ campaign launched 27 January 2022 is a step-change in our approach to supporting claimants and employers. This approach recognises that the benefits of a job are clear, both financially and for the wellbeing of claimants. The approach described in the Green Paper is known as Tailoring Up, allowing work coaches to start claimants from a point of no mandatory requirements and build up, based on their health condition and personal circumstances. This approach to working with claimants with health conditions and disabilities is not affected by the introduction of the Way to Work.

Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

Dehenna Davison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the number of tribunals and mandatory reconsiderations involving personal independence payment claims.

Chloe Smith: The Department’s aim is to make the right decision as early as possible in the claim journey. We have made improvements to our decision-making processes to ensure that people get the support they are entitled to as quickly as possible, because Decision Makers can better gather relevant additional evidence earlier in the process.

Employment: Disability

Dr Kieran Mullan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress her Department has made on her consultation on Disability Workforce Reporting.

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress her Department has made on her consultation on Disability Workforce Reporting.

Chloe Smith: The consultation on disability workforce reporting for large employers, which is being led by the Disability Unit based in the Cabinet Office, was launched on 16 December 2021 and will close on 25 March 2022. The consultation is available at www.gov.uk/government/consultations/disability-workforce-reporting

Disability

Dr Kieran Mullan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her priorities are for the next six months of the National Disability Strategy.

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her priorities are for the next six months of the National Disability Strategy.

Chloe Smith: The National Disability Strategy (NDS), published in July 2021, sets out a wide range of tangible actions that will impact across the everyday lives of disabled people. From housing to transport, education to leisure and justice, to challenging the unhelpful perceptions of others. Delivery of the policies in the strategy is progressing well. For example, DfE has invested over £8 billion in 2021/2022 on children and young people with complex needs, improving outcomes for disabled children. DWP is piloting an Adjustments Passport supporting disabled people in the transition to employment, and BEIS launched an online advice hub offering accessible information and advice on employment rights for disabled people. Priorities over the next 6 months will be to continue to deliver on the commitments in the NDS and reporting on progress as we have previously committed to do. In addition, this government is supporting the successful delivery of the British Sign Language Private Members Bill through the House of Commons and Lords to ​​recognise British Sign Language (BSL) as a language of Great Britain, with ultimately the objective of increasing access to BSL interpretation. Alongside recognising British Sign Language as a language of Great Britain, we will:establish a non-statutory advisory board of British Sign Language users to advise the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on BSL guidanceexamine how to increase the number of British Sign Language interpretersreview the Access to Work scheme, which funds workplace adjustments, to ensure users of British Sign Language receive the support they needI am committed to delivering the government’s aim to address the challenges faced by disabled people so that we continue to build back better, and fairer, for disabled people.

Access to Work Programme

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department will take to raise awareness of the Access to Work scheme among (a) employers and (b) employees.

Chloe Smith: DWP is committed to increasing awareness of the Access to Work scheme amongst individuals with disabilities and health conditions, employers and stakeholders. Over the past 18 months Access to Work have delivered in-depth upskilling sessions to a wide variety of internal colleagues, including Work Coaches, Disability Employment Advisers and Employer Advisers. Externally we have also provided awareness of Access to Work to a range of organisations, employers and customer representative groups. This will continue throughout 2022, focusing activities in areas with the largest disability employment gap. We frequently promote Access to Work through the Department’s social media channels and have introduced specific Access to Work pages on the JobHelp website (to maximise reach via our Jobhelp TV campaign), and on gov.uk. In addition, we are continuing to promote Access to Work to employers as part of the Disability Confident scheme.

Employment: Disability

Dr Kieran Mullan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support disabled people into the workforce.

Chloe Smith: A range of DWP initiatives are supporting disabled people and people with health conditions to start, stay and succeed in employment. These include the Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme, the Work and Health Programme, Disability Confident and support in partnership with the health system, including Employment Advisers in NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services. Last year we published three major documents: Shaping Future Support: The Health and Disability Green Paper; the response to the Health is Everyone’s Business consultation on minimising the risk of ill-health related job loss; and the National Disability Strategy. These together form our holistic approach and vision for supporting disabled people and people with health conditions to live independent lives.

Jobcentres: Disability

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department plans to take to ensure that every jobcentre is equipped with the assistive technology disabled claimants need to apply for jobs.

Chloe Smith: DWP recently completed an upgrade of all Customer Computers across the Jobcentre network which now means that all devices provided for use by customers have the standard accessibility features available such as being able to change the screen size & colour, replacing sounds with screen alerts and using the screen reader to read text. We currently have over 7,275 devices across our estate, registered with these accessibility features. The numbers of computers available for customers to use in jobcentres will differ depending on the COVID measures in place. Further support is available to customers where reasonable adjustments are identified and recorded. Each Jobcentre District Office has been provided with the following items for use by customers if requested: A keyboard with larger keysA large trackball mouseHeadphones. However, many people will want to use their own We have opened a number of new sites across the estate to support delivery of face to face public services. As part of this work, Customer Computers are available in these sites. Further work is also underway to provide accessibility hardware to those sites. In addition to this, we have improved access to our Wi-Fi services in all jobcentres, allowing customers to use their own personal devices if they prefer, to access internet services. We also constantly review the number of PCs available for customers and have capacity to increase the number of devices quickly, if the need arises.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Glass: Recycling

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has conducted a carbon lifecycle analysis for glass bottles in the scenario that they are (a) included in the proposed Deposit Return Scheme and (b) remain part of consistent household collections under Extended Producer Responsibility.

Jo Churchill: We consulted on proposals for a deposit return scheme for drinks containers and separately for consistent recycling collections in 2021. We are currently analysing the responses to these consultations and will publish responses in early 2022.

Infrastructure: Northumberland

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure the infrastructure in Northumberland has the capacity to handle waste sewage and drainage water.

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to upgrade the sewage system in Northumberland.

Rebecca Pow: Through the Environment Act 2021 drainage and sewerage management planning is a statutory duty for sewerage undertakers. Each sewerage undertaker must prepare, publish, and maintain a drainage and sewerage management plan (DSMP). DSMPs will set out how water and wastewater companies intend to extend, improve, and maintain a robust and resilient drainage and wastewater system.The Environment Agency is currently working with Northumbrian Water to review the options for the Drainage Wastewater Management Plan, which should be published in draft form by June 2022, with a final draft to be published in 2023.

Water: Pipelines

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce the amount of water lost through leaks in England.

Rebecca Pow: Defra has challenged water companies to improve their performance on leakage. In the current price review Ofwat has set a target for an average 16% leakage reduction by 2025.Longer term, the water industry has also committed to reduce leakage by 50% from 2017/18 levels sector-wide by 2050, a target which has been endorsed by Government and is set out in our Strategic Policy Statement to Ofwat.

Export Health Certificates

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the cost is of an Animal Health Certificate; and what steps he is taking to reduce the cost of Animal Health Certificates for UK pets.

Jo Churchill: Animal Health Certificates (AHCs) fees are set by veterinary surgeons or veterinary practices and are a private matter between individual practices and their clients and neither the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, the UK regulator of the veterinary profession, nor Defra intervenes in the level of fees that are charged. We are continuing to engage with the British Veterinary Association (BVA) to develop additional guidance to support vets in completing and issuing AHCs.

Export Health Certificates

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits and feasibility of extending the length of validity of Animal Health Certificates.

Jo Churchill: For the purposes of the EU Pet Travel Scheme, Great Britain and the Crown Dependencies are considered a Part 2 listed third country which requires an Animal Health Certificate (AHC) for travel to the EU. Under the Northern Ireland Protocol, EU rules also apply to the non-commercial movements of pets into Northern Ireland from Great Britain. The model AHC is set down in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 577/2013 and it states that the certificate is valid for 10 days from the date of issue until the date of entry into the EU, and that it is valid for onward travel within the EU for a period of four months subject to certain conditions. Great Britain cannot unilaterally choose to amend the conditions specified on this certificate. Our advice for pet owners and users of assistance dogs travelling is that they should continue to contact their vet at least one month in advance to ensure their pet has the correct vaccinations and paperwork to travel abroad.

Food Supply

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the National Food Strategy prioritises the affordability of food and the resilience of the food supply chain, alongside the necessary health and environmental outcomes.

Victoria Prentis: The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain, as demonstrated throughout the COVID-19 response, with well-established ways of working with Government to respond to risks that may arise, including the recent challenges to our supply chains brought on by global pressures. The forthcoming Government Food Strategy is a once in a generation opportunity to create a food system that feeds our nation today and protects it for tomorrow. It will build on existing work across Government and identify new opportunities to drive long-term change to make the food system healthier, more sustainable, more resilient, and more accessible for those across the UK, whilst considering the immediate pressures facing the sector. We recognise that some people may require extra support over the winter as we enter the final stages of recovery, which is why vulnerable households across the country will now be able to access a new £500 million support fund to help them with essentials. The Household Support Fund will provide £421 million to help vulnerable people in England with the cost of food, utilities and wider essentials. The Barnett Formula will apply in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving almost £80 million (£41m for the Scottish Government, £25m for the Welsh Government and £14m for the NI Executive), for a total of £500 million.

Packaging: Environment Protection

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when eco-modulation fees for Extended Producer Responsibility will be announced to allow industry to invest in the right packaging solutions.

Jo Churchill: The Government will publish the response to its recent consultation on Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging in early 2022 which will set out the Government’s final policy positions, including on modulated fees.

Water Companies: Private Sector

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what value of dividends were paid to shareholders in England's private water companies in each of the last five years.

Rebecca Pow: Decisions on dividends for water company shareholders are made by water company boards. Company boards carry out these decisions within the framework of regulatory price controls, licence conditions and company law. Ofwat is responsible for economic regulation of the water companies.Water companies publish their dividend statements in annual reports, which are not held by the Government.

Water Companies: Private Sector

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of shares in England's privatised water companies are owned by organisations overseas.

Rebecca Pow: 8 of the 15 English undertakers are wholly or majority owned by entities domiciled outside the UK.

Flood Control: River Humber

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to facilitate the development and implementation of the Humber Flood Risk Strategy.

Rebecca Pow: The Humber Strategy 'Planning for the Rising Tides' is already being successfully implemented and has seen over £150 million of investment, improving protection for 70,000 properties. A new tidal flood risk management strategy for the Humber - Humber 2100+ - is being developed by a partnership of 12 local authorities and the Environment Agency. This will redefine the approach to managing tidal risk on the Humber and prepare communities and businesses for the challenges posed by sea level rise and climate change over the next 100 years. This work has been allocated £1.5 million from Defra as a pilot to trial and develop ways of planning ahead and making wise investment choices for the decades to come in face of the long-term uncertainties brought by climate change.

Washing Machines: Water Filters

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of requiring manufacturers to fit microplastic-catching filters to new (a) domestic and (b) commercial washing machines.

Rebecca Pow: Defra is undertaking a rapid evidence assessment to understand the costs, benefits and efficiencies of incorporating filters to trap microfibres from textiles during the laundry cycle. The aim of the review will help us determine whether the filters offer a cost-effective measure to reduce inputs of microfibres to our wastewater (sewage) treatment systems and the wider water environment.

Home Office

Members: Correspondence

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to reply to the further chasing letter to the Minister for Future Borders and Immigration from the hon. Member for Harrow West of 9 November 2021, regarding his constituent Arian Sherzai and the safety of relatives in Afghanistan.

Victoria Atkins: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Offenders: Deportation

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department of 22 November 2021, Official Report, column 9, what plans she has to meet the hon. Member for Rochdale.

Rachel Maclean: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Emergency Services: Finance

Mr Richard Holden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of a fair funding review of (a) fire services and (b) police services, alongside the broader local government fair funding review.

Damian Hinds: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Non-governmental Organisations: Gaza

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what written assurances her Department has given to international NGOs operating in Gaza that the proscription of Hamas as a terrorist organisation will not adversely affect their work.

Damian Hinds: Hamas’ proscription was extended to cover the organisation in its entirety in November 2021. The US, Canada and the EU also designate the group in its entirety as a terrorist organisation.The Government is confident that the UK’s counter-terrorism framework, including the proscription power, does not prevent organisations from operating overseas. This includes international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) delivering legitimate humanitarian aid.In October 2021, the Government published an updated Information Note, primarily for INGOs, on operating within counter-terrorism legislation, sanctions, and export controls. Ministers of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office have also met with INGOs to discuss Hamas’ extended proscription.

Disability: Employment

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Part One of the National Disability Strategy, published July 2021, what recent steps her Department has taken to (a) encourage and support workplace disability networks, (b) achieve and maintain the highest level of Disability Confident accreditation, (c) ensure responsive and timely support to meet workplace adjustment needs and (d) develop and embed flexible working.

Rachel Maclean: a) ABLE is the Home Office’s disability related staff support network. Encouragement and support are provided through the Diversity & Inclusion Team, part of Human Resources. Recently this encouragement and support includes:Financial support, to make purchases in support of activities, such as British Sign Language Interpreters and Speech-To-Text Services.Facility time, to undertake activities and lead the network.Support from within the Diversity & Inclusion Team, in areas such as communications, business planning, and briefing and engaging senior leaders.Membership of Purple Space, a networking and professional development hub for disabled employees, network and resource group leaders.ABLE form part of the Disability Champions Board and are empowered to represent and act as the voice for disabled colleagues across the Home Office. They play a key role as a critical friend offering constructive challenge to the department.Recently Senior Officials supported ABLE as part of UK Disability History Month 2021 and International Day of People with Disabilities 2021. Our Permanent Secretary, 2nd Permanent Secretary and our SCS level Home Office Disability Champion where amongst those who spoke with passion about this important topic.b) The Home Office is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader Employer, the highest level of Disability Confident accreditation. This renewal accreditation was confirmed in March 2021. Our accreditation is valid for 3 years and recognises our work to date to create an empowering culture for colleagues with disabilities and/or long-term health conditions.c) The Home Office’s Workplace Adjustments Guidance was updated in July 2021. The process for obtaining Workplace Adjustments includes internal online purchasing processes which allow digital hardware, digital software, furniture, and equipment to be purchased swiftly. The Workplace Adjustments Team form part of the Diversity & Inclusion Team within Human Resources, providing support and guidance to line managers and job holders, helping ensure compliance with the Equality Act.d) We have recently updated our flexible working policy and publicised it to employees in support of the launch of our hybrid working approach. We provide guidance to managers on the use of workplace adjustments, which may include the use of flexible working arrangements where this best meets the needs of a disabled employee.

Home Office: Courier Services

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of (a) the reliability of her Department's chosen courier service and (b) reports from applicants of the loss of confidential documentation in transit to and from her Department's offices.

Tom Pursglove: British passports, Biometric Residence Permits, and Home Office Travel Documents are delivered under HM Passport Office’s UK secure delivery contract.HM Passport Office works closely with all of its suppliers to ensure that services are delivered in line with our robust contractual demands; ensuring that any issues are resolved as quickly as possible. Reports of any loss are fully investigated and inform security reviews.In response to some pressures within the UK delivery network, which peaked in late-November 2021, HM Passport Office has worked with its delivery partner to identify the solutions that have helped this service to meet the required performance targets.

Home Office: Courier Services

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason courier tracking numbers for delivery of confidential personal documentation are not routinely provided by her Department to applicants.

Kevin Foster: For delivery of British passports, Biometric Residence Permits, and Home Office Travel Documents, tracking numbers, and a link to the online tracker, are provided to customers directly by the UK Secure Delivery provider.

Sexual Offences: Trials

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help ensure more crimes of sexual violence go to trial.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the police in handling accusations of crimes of sexual violence.

Rachel Maclean: In June 2021, we published our Rape Review and Action Plan. Through the Rape Review, we took a hard and honest look at how the entire criminal justice system deals with rape and in too many instances it simply had not been good enough. That was reinforced by the joint inspection report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate Constabulary Fire and Rescue Services and Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Inspectorate, which found that improvements were needed in how the police and CPS worked individually and together.Our Action Plan set out how we would drive improvements at each stage of the criminal justice system. To drive change within policing, with the ambition of more than doubling the number of prosecutions reaching court over this Parliament, we are:funding Operation Soteria, which is already driving changes in the police’s and CPS’ approach to rape and will in time form the basis for a sustainable transformation – this includes expanding to a further 14 police forces and their corresponding CPS areas;directing £5m of the Transforming Forensics (TF) programme funding to accelerate growth in the capacity of police forces to acquire and manage evidence from digital devices so victims get their phones back faster;working with industry to explore how technology can be leveraged to drive efficiencies in rape investigations following a Ministerial-led Tech Summit on 6 December 2021; andpiloting a mobile phone swap-out scheme for rape victims to get a loan replacement or 'swap out' phone if the police need their phone for longer than 24 hours. The findings from the pilot will be used to inform a potential national rollout.We published our first six-monthly Rape Review Progress Report on 9 December 2021, which shows we are on track with many actions, but it will take time for the effects to be seen in figures like crime outcomes.As well as this, in our cross-Government Tackling Violence against Women and Girls Strategy, which we published in July 2021, we supported the appointment of DCC Maggie Blyth as the first full-time National Policing Lead for Violence Against Women and Girls. DCC Blyth took up post in October 2021 and will address the findings and recommendations in the HMICFRS’ inspection report on VAWG to drive improvements in policing’s response to VAWG.

Crime Prevention: Departmental Coordination

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the National Disability Strategy, published July 2021, what recent steps her Department has taken to publish a new cross-government strategy to tackle the crime and disorder that undermines the quality of life for everyone, including hate crime.

Rachel Maclean: This Government is committed to tackling crime and disorder as set out in the Beating Crime Plan we published in July 2021. The plan outlines our strategy to reduce crime by protecting the law-abiding majority, swiftly bringing criminals to justice and managing offenders.In the Beating Crime Plan we set out our commitment to tackling hate crime, all instances of which are completely unacceptable. The Government’s new Strategy for tackling hate crime will be published shortly. It will include plans for tackling disability hate crime, building on our achievements under the 2016-20 Hate Crime Action Plan.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Levelling Up Fund: Rural Areas

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what support will be available to level up rural areas which have been unsuccessful in previous bids to the Levelling Up Fund and are not named as recipients of funding in the Levelling Up White Paper.

Neil O'Brien: Levelling up is for all parts of the UK, including rural areas. Building on the Levelling Up White Paper, we will publish the second report on rural proofing in England this spring, setting out how government departments are working to support levelling up in rural areas and how we are strengthening the rural economy, developing rural infrastructure, delivering rural services and managing the natural environment. Rural areas in particular will also benefit from the Government’s mission to reach nationwide gigabit capable-broadband and 4G coverage by 2030.As well as the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, of which details were published alongside the White Paper, we expect to launch the next round of the Levelling Up Fund this spring, with further details to be announced soon. Further, the White Paper sets out a clear framework for devolution in England, supporting all areas, including rural counties, to develop devolution proposals which demonstrate effective leadership and sensible geography.

Property Development: Carbon Emissions

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will publish guidance to require planning applications to consider the carbon footprint of a development.

Eddie Hughes: The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that the planning system should support the transition to a low carbon future in a changing climate and we will make sure that the reformed planning system further supports our efforts to combat climate change and help bring greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. The Government recognises that the carbon emitted during the construction of homes and buildings, or embodied carbon, can account for a significant proportion of the total carbon emissions over the lifetime of a building. We encourage developers to consider embodied carbon, while also recognising that improvements in the consistency of whole life carbon assessments are required, supported by robust carbon data, and underpinned by widely adopted product standards. In the Net Zero Strategy the Government committed improving reporting on embodied carbon and has recently published a call for evidence exploring how to grow the market for low emissions products.Alongside this, the Government sets minimum energy efficiency standards for buildings through the Building Regulations. From 2025, the Future Homes Standard will ensure that new homes produce at least 75% fewer CO2 emissions than those built to the 2013 standards and the Future Buildings Standard will ensure highly efficient new non-domestic buildings. To work towards this, in December 2021 we introduced an uplift in energy efficiency standards, which will come into force in June 2022.

Green Belt

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether local authorities are permitted to deregister green belt land to make sites available for development; and if he will make a statement.

Eddie Hughes: This Government is firmly committed to protecting and enhancing the Green Belt, in line with our manifesto. There are strong protections for the Green Belt in place. Through national planning policy, local authorities may not alter the boundaries of Green Belt land unless in exceptional circumstances, which must take place through the local plan process. A local authority should consider releasing land from Green Belt only if it can fully evidence that it has explored all other reasonable options for meeting its development needs. This includes using suitable brownfield land for development.

Buildings: Safety

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his letter of 10 January 2022 to Residential Property Developer Industry, on what date the roundtable to bring together 20 of the largest housebuilders and developer trade bodies took place; what the names and organisational roles were of all attendees at that roundtable; and whether a follow-up roundtable discussion is planned.

Eddie Hughes: Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on gov.uk.

Private Rented Housing: Regulation

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the recommendations of the National Audit Office's report entitled Regulation of private renting, published in December 2021, what steps his Department is taking to improve the (a) quality and (b) availability of data on regulation of the private rented sector to support decision-making and best practice at national and local levels.

Eddie Hughes: The Department utilises a range of data from a variety of sources to inform policy decisions. This includes Department-commissioned research, such as the English Housing Survey (EHS) and English Private Landlord Survey (EPLS). The EHS provides data at national and regional level, and the Department is currently exploring local authority level modelling to inform our insight into private rented sector quality as part of the EHS.The Department also regularly engages with other Government departments, local authorities and stakeholders to enhance the Department’s insights into the sector.The Department is working to further develop its approach to data, considering what additional data is needed to support its private rented sector reform programme and ensure effective regulation of the sector.  The Department is conscious, however, of the need to balance reporting requirements on local authorities to enable robust oversight of the sector with the associated local resource implications.

Private Rented Housing: Regulation

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the recommendation of National Audit Office's report entitled Regulation of the private rented sector, published in December 2021, what steps his Department is taking to (a) understand the barriers local authorities face in regulating the private rented sector and (b) assess whether powers are adequate in regulating the private rented sector.

Eddie Hughes: The Department regularly engages with local authorities and a range of tenant, landlord and agent stakeholders to enhance its insight into the sector.We have recently undertaken research with Sheffield Hallam University to better understand the experience of local authorities undertaking enforcement and the barriers they face. Overall, the research findings suggest that the powers and the enforcement measures available to local authorities are valuable tools for tackling poor conditions in the private rented sector.The Department continues to review and develop its approach to building the most effective evidence base and we are currently exploring proposals for introducing a landlord register in England.

Private Rented Housing: Regulation

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the recommendations of the National Audit Office's report entitled Regulation of private renting, published in December 2021, whether the upcoming White Paper on reforms to the private rented sector (PRS) will include proposals on how his Department will report publicly on (a) progress against its aims for reforms of the PRS and (b) the impact of its legislative interventions.

Eddie Hughes: We are reflecting on the outcomes of the NAO review into the regulation of the Private Rented Sector (PRS), published in December, and we are considering their recommendations. We are committed to improving the quality of homes in the PRS, giving tenants greater security, and supporting local authorities to crack down on poor practice.We will bring forward a White Paper in Spring 2022 which will outline our plans to deliver a fairer, higher quality and more secure rental market.We already report regularly on changes in the PRS using data gathered through the English Housing Survey. We will consider how to monitor and report progress against our PRS reforms as the work progresses.

Private Rented Housing: Dispute Resolution

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the recommendation of the National Audit Office's report entitled Regulation of private renting, published in December 2021, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of dispute resolution schemes for tenants in the private rented sector (PRS), including whether those schemes (a) are accessible to all tenants, (b) provide effective redress for tenants when things go wrong and (c) provide his Department sufficient insight into emerging issues in the PRS.

Eddie Hughes: In order to improve access to redress for private renters, it has been a legal requirement since October 2014 for letting and managing agents in England to belong to one of the two Government-approved redress schemes. The Department is committed to ensuring that the schemes’ systems and processes work well for tenants and landlords.The schemes are independent from Government, and set out their own processes and procedures for supporting tenants, in line with the approval conditions set by Government. The schemes issue guidance to tenants and provide advice and support both by email and by phone, ensuring that digitally excluded tenants are still able to access redress. In 2020, the two schemes awarded a combined £2.3 million in compensation to tenants and landlords. The schemes also expelled and referred to trading standards 63 property agents after failing to comply with decisions.The Department closely monitors the performance of each of the redress schemes through monthly data returns and quarterly meetings, to ensure the schemes are operating effectively and that emerging issues in the private rented sector are identified.The Government does, however, recognise that the existing redress schemes are not accessible to all tenants. Tenants who rent directly from their landlords currently do not have access to free and impartial redress and this is not fair. This is why we have committed to require all private landlords to belong to a mandatory redress scheme, so that all private renters have access to redress where they have a legitimate complaint about their home. We will set out more details on how this commitment will be delivered in the Renters Reform White Paper later this year, with legislation following in due course.

Regional Planning and Development

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what the timeline is for his Department to release further plans for levelling up areas not referred to in the Levelling Up White Paper.

Neil O'Brien: The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cabinet Office

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

Mark Menzies: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to support the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman investigate the backlog of cases that are awaiting review.

Michael Ellis: The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) is independent of the Government and reports directly to Parliament. The Ombudsman has informed ministers that he has already written to the hon. Member on this matter.

Cabinet Office: Written Questions

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to answer Question 107502, tabled by the hon. Member for Islington South and Finsbury on 18 January 2021.

Michael Ellis: I refer the Rt Hon Member to my response on 7 February 2022 to PQ107502.

Cabinet Office: Disclosure of Information

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the whistleblowing guidance in place for his Office in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) January 2022.

Michael Ellis: The Cabinet Office is committed to ensuring high standards of conduct in all that it does. Ministers and civil servants share this commitment. If individuals suspect wrongdoing, they have a responsibility to speak up. The Cabinet Office also makes clear to staff that they should not make the assumption that someone else will come forward to report wrongdoing. In December 2019, the Cabinet Office enhanced its ‘Raising a Concern’ policy (previously Whistleblowing) to align with recent changes introduced by Civil Service HR. These changes were introduced as a result of some confusion in navigating the process and from staff feedback suggesting the term ‘whistleblowing’ has negative connotations. The Cabinet Office will review the existing policy and procedures in line with recently updated cross-government guidance. The associated guidance is attached. Raising a Concern (pdf, 153.8KB)

Cabinet Office: Coronavirus

Angela Rayner: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2021 to Question 107597, on Government Departments: Coronavirus, what guidance was issued to Cabinet Office staff on managing the risk of covid-19 in the workplace was in place as of 13 November 2020.

Michael Ellis: Throughout the pandemic, Cabinet Office has followed Government guidance on ensuring safety in the workplace, particularly the Working Safely during Coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance - recognising the different approaches taken by the devolved administrations. Our position has aligned with cross-government guidance issued centrally by Civil Service HR.On 13 November 2020, in line with the PM announcement on 31 October, Cabinet Office advised that office workers who could effectively work from home should do so with extra consideration given to people at higher risk. Those who needed to come into the workplace for essential business activity and/or for personal circumstances were able to do so.A list of every piece of guidance issued to Cabinet Office staff relating to managing the risk of COVID-19 in the workplace cannot be provided due to the disproportionate cost.

Treasury

Roadchef: Employee Benefit Trusts

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will (a) make an assessment of the disputed interpretation HMRC has placed on the scope of the agreement between HMRC and Roadchef Employee Benefit Trustees, arrived at by mediation and (b) take steps to resolve that matter.

Lucy Frazer: The administration of the tax system is a matter for HM Revenue and Customs, who continue in dialogue with the customer.

Swimming: VAT

Catherine West: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received on reducing the level of VAT payable on swimming lessons for children; and if he will make a statement.

Catherine West: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to abolish VAT on the hire of swimming pools and associated facilities.

Catherine West: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will extend the VAT exemption to the hire of swimming pools and associated facilities hired by swimming teachers.

Lucy Frazer: The hiring of swimming pools and swimming lessons qualify for an exemption from VAT when certain conditions are met, as outlined in VAT Notice 742 Paragraph 5. The Government has no plans to change this. Extending the current exemption would impose additional pressure on the public finances, to which VAT makes a significant contribution. VAT raised around £130 billion in 2019-20, and helps to fund key spending priorities, including on health, education, and defense.

Energy: Prices

Catherine West: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide separate additional funding to (a) households with children under the age of 18, (b) households with expectant mothers and (c) pensioners to help with the increase in gas and electric costs, in response to Ofgem's energy cap increase.

Mr Simon Clarke: The Government recognises many households will need support to help deal with the rising cost of energy prices. Therefore, we are providing support worth £9.1bn in 2022-23 composed of: A £200 discount for households delivered via their energy bill this autumn, paid back automatically over the next 5 years, spreading the increased costs of global prices over time in a way that is more manageable for households. A £150 non-repayable cash rebate to 80% of households to help with rising costs now, delivered as a payment from government to Local Authorities, for implementation from this April via a payment to all households in Council Tax Bands A-D. £144 million of discretionary funding for Local Authorities to support households who need support but are not eligible for the Council Tax reduction. There is also our £500m Household Support Fund which will help vulnerable households, including pensioners, with the costs of essentials this winter – local authorities will ensure it reaches those who need it most, and 50% of the funding is ringfenced for households with children. This is on top of wider support available for vulnerable households, elderly and low-income people this winter. These schemes include the Warm Home Discount, which is being expanded to 3m people and increased to £150, up to £300 Winter Fuel Payment for all households with at least one member above State Pension age and a £25 per week Cold Weather Payment. These measures will help ensure those most vulnerable are better able to heat their homes over the winter. In addition to these measures, we’re also providing £3bn over this Parliament to help more than half a million lower income homes become more energy efficient, saving them £290 per year on average.

Training

Matt Vickers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress his Department has made on supporting people to upskill and change career paths.

Mr Simon Clarke: The Treasury is working to support people to upskill and change career paths. At the Spending Review, young people and adults benefitted from the biggest long-term settlement for post-16 education in England since 2015. The government is investing a total over the Parliament of £3.8bn in skills by 2024-25, equivalent to a cash increase of 42% (26% in real terms) compared to 2019-20. Spending Review 2021 delivered on the government’s commitment to invest an additional £500m per annum (£2.5bn total) in adult skills through the National Skills Fund, including continuing to offer free Level 3 courses for adults aged over 19 in high value subjects. This substantially boosts retraining opportunities for adults and will level up basic skills. We are also quadrupling the current annual scale of skills bootcamps over the SR period. Employers work with providers to deliver short courses to develop occupational skills, with participants guaranteed a job interview on completion. Bootcamps offer an opportunity for all adults to reskill and change career paths. SR21 also announced ‘Multiply’ – the Government’s new programme to level up adult numeracy. £560m across the SR period will give people the opportunity to develop their numeracy skills, funded from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Local areas will be allocated funding to deliver interventions from a menu of options including: delivering flexible Functional Skills courses to fit around adults’ lives; supporting adult to build their confidence with numbers; working with employers to deliver innovative workplace-based numeracy programmes. Getting numeracy skills is one of the most valuable things we can do to help people get on: getting Level 2 numeracy increases wages by an average of 14% after seven years, compared to 4% for Level 2 literacy. Apprenticeships are the government’s premier in-work training offer, providing learners of all ages and at all stages of their careers the opportunity to learn new skills, retrain or upskill. There are over 640 high-quality apprenticeship standards available at levels 2 (GCSE equivalent) to 7 (Master’s degree equivalent), including in ‘in demand’ sectors such as logistics, digital, and health and social care, allowing learners to both build on existing learning and explore new career directions. Higher-level apprenticeships can be an important stepping-stone to achieving these aims. Spending Review 2021 announced the first increase to apprenticeship funding since 2019, with funding rising to £2.7bn by 2024-25.

Training: Young People

Matt Vickers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress his Department has made on supporting young people into high-skilled jobs.

Mr Simon Clarke: The Treasury is working to support young people into high-skilled jobs. Spending Review 2021 delivered the biggest long-term settlement for post-16 education in England since 2015. It delivered on the government’s commitment to invest an additional £500m per annum (£2.5bn total) in adult skills through the National Skills Fund, including continuing to offer free Level 3 courses for adults aged over 19 in high value subjects, quadrupling the current annual scale of skills bootcamps and delivering 24,000 traineeships for 16-24-year-olds a year. These actions will help young people access high-quality training suitable to their needs and career goals.  For 16-19 education, Spending Review 2021 doubles the investment we made through Spending Reviews 2019 and 2020, giving young people more money for the high value subjects that matter most for their future careers. In addition, we have invested further in T Levels, which offer young people the opportunity to experience a mix of classroom learning and on-the-job training via an industry placement. Apprenticeships are the government’s premier in-work training offer, providing learners of all ages and at all stages of their careers the opportunity to learn new skills, retrain or upskill. In academic year 2020/21, almost 50% of apprenticeship starts were by under 25s. Spending Review 2021 announced the first increase to apprenticeship funding since 2019, with funding rising to £2.7bn by 2024-25. In addition to this Government’s support for post-16 education and apprenticeships, over 122,000 Kickstart jobs have been started by young people across Great Britain. Kickstart gives young people the chance to build their confidence and skills in the workplace, and to gain experience that will improve their chances of finding long-term, sustainable work. As well as Kickstart, DWP’s Youth Offer provides a guaranteed foundation of support to young people on Universal Credit in the Intensive Work Search group, ensuring they can access the right support, education or training to support their work and career ambitions.

Council Tax: Rebates

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral Statement of 3 February 2022, Official Report, on the Economic Update, whether all households in council tax bands A to D will receive the £150 council tax rebate including those receiving council tax support.

Mr Simon Clarke: All households in council tax bands A to D who are not exempt from council tax will receive the £150 council tax rebate in full, including those receiving council tax support.

Treasury: Disability

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Part One of the National Disability Strategy, published July 2021, what recent steps his Department has taken to (a) encourage and support workplace disability networks, (b) achieve and maintain the highest level of Disability Confident accreditation, (c) ensure responsive and timely support to meet workplace adjustment needs and (d) develop and embed flexible working.

Mr Simon Clarke: a) encouraging and supporting workplace disability networks: Treasury encourages and supports disability networks within the department, they are formed by volunteers, meet on a regular basis, share experiences, hold awareness raising events, and form a part of the consultation process for corporate changes. (b) achieving and maintaining the highest level of Disability Confident accreditation: The Treasury achieved the highest level of Disability Confident accreditation in October 2017 and has maintained that level.  (c) ensuring responsive and timely support to meet workplace adjustment needs: The Treasury has an internal centralised process for workplace adjustments, and if necessary, seeks advice from the Civil Service workplace adjustments team for complicated cases, and promoted the use of the workplace adjustments passports  (d) developing and embedding flexible working: The Treasury has a flexible working policy, and promotes a range of options including flexible working patterns, part-time, job-share and condensed hours

Pensioners: Poverty

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of making a further uplift in the rate of the state pension on the level of pensioner poverty as a result of increases in the cost of domestic energy.

Mr Simon Clarke: The Government is committed to ensuring that older people are able to live with the dignity and respect they deserve, and the State Pension is the foundation of state support for older people. Over the last two years, the basic and new State Pension have increased by more than 5.6%. This means that from April, the full yearly amount of the basic State Pension will be around £720 more in 2022/23 than if it had been up-rated by prices since 2010. That’s a rise of over £2,300 in cash terms. The overall trend in the percentage of pensioners living in poverty is a dramatic fall over recent decades. There are 200,000 fewer pensioners in absolute poverty, both before and after housing costs, than in 2009/10. The Government recognises that many households, including pensioners, will need support to deal with rising energy costs. In 2022/23 we are providing support worth £9.1 billion, composed of: - A £200 discount for households delivered via their energy bill this autumn, paid back automatically over the next 5 years, spreading the increased costs of global prices over time in a way that is more manageable. - A £150 non-repayable cash rebate to 80% of households to help with rising costs now, delivered as a payment from Government to Local Authorities, for implementation from this April via a payment to all households in Council Tax Bands A-D. - £144 million of discretionary funding for Local Authorities to support households who need support but are not eligible for the Council Tax reduction. Furthermore, our £500 million Household Support Fund will help vulnerable households, including pensioners, with the costs of essentials this winter. Those in need of support should contact their local council for more information on accessing the fund. In addition to these measures, we are providing £3 billion over this Parliament to help more than half a million lower income homes become more energy efficient, saving them £290 per year on average. This is on top of wider support available to pensioners through Pension Credit, the Warm Home Discount Scheme, Winter Fuel Payments, and Cold Weather Payments.

Financial Services: Regulation

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has taken steps to review the corpus of retained EU law, other UK regulations and potential new financial services regulations, for the purposes of improving UK competitiveness; and what steps he is taking to ensure that any such new regulations and legislative changes are introduced in a timely manner.

John Glen: In his Mansion House statement last July, the Chancellor set out the Government’s vision for an open, competitive, green, and technologically advanced financial services sector. A sweeping set of reforms to sharpen the UK’s competitive advantage in financial services is already underway. In November, the Government published the second consultation in its Future Regulatory Framework (FRF) Review. This provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to ensure that, having left the EU, the UK establishes a coherent, agile, and internationally respected approach to financial services regulation that is right for the UK. This includes proposals to repeal a significant volume of retained EU law relating to financial services, so that the financial services regulators can take responsibility for making the appropriate rules in these areas.As set out in the recent publication, The Benefits of Brexit: How the UK is taking advantage of leaving the EU, the Government is actively seeking out opportunities to tailor the regulation of our financial services sector, within the new framework the FRF Review will deliver, through measures including: A ground-breaking Mutual Recognition Agreement with Switzerland.Reforming our capital markets through the Wholesale Markets Review and Prospectus Regime Review.Establishing a new Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology.Becoming the world’s first net zero-aligned financial centre.

Debts: Advisory Services

Emma Hardy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) statement: update on debt advice commissioning of 17 December 2021, when she plans to make funding available to MaPS to extend contracts for existing providers of community-based debt advice services for (a) three months initially and (b) a further 12 months following the decision not to proceed with the regional lot.

John Glen: The Money and Pensions Service’s (MaPS) annual budget will be agreed as part of their annual budget negotiations with the Department for Work and Pensions and HM Treasury which are currently ongoing and will conclude shortly. This includes funding allocation towards provision of free-to-client debt advice in England. The Government recognises the sector’s need for planning certainty and is working at pace with MaPS to provide further information to the bidders and the sector shortly.

Council Tax: Rebates

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral Statement of 3 February 2022, Official Report, on the Economic Update, whether the £150 rebate will be paid in full to all households in bands A to D in April 2022, with a cash payment to those households with monthly bills less than £150.

Mr Simon Clarke: Households in bands A-D that are eligible for the rebate will receive the £150 rebate in full through a cash payment from their local authority, even where their monthly council tax bill is less than £150.

Pay

Beth Winter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the statement of the Governor of the Bank of England of 3 February 2022 on the need to see moderation of wage rises.

Beth Winter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Bank of England Monetary Policy Report of 3 February 2022, what steps he is taking with regard to firms passing through increases in wage costs to prices.

Mr Simon Clarke: On 3 February, the Bank of England published their Monetary Policy Report, which updated their forecasts for a range of economic indicators. The government continually monitors such forecasts and economic developments, including changes to wages, to consider the impact on firms and households. The government is taking action to support a high-productivity, growing economy. This includes through a £3.8bn investment in skills at the Budget and Spending Review last year. As the global economy recovers from Covid, many economies are experiencing high inflation, in part due to pressures from rising energy prices and disruptions to global supply chains. However, the government understands people’s concerns around increasing prices. We are taking targeted action worth around £12 billion this financial year and next to help families with the cost of living. We are cutting the Universal Credit taper to make sure work pays, freezing alcohol and fuel duties to keep costs down, and providing support to help households with the costs of essentials. Alongside this, the government has announced a package of support to help households with rising energy bills, worth £9.1 billion in 2022-23. The separation of fiscal and monetary decisions is a key feature of the UK’s economic framework, and essential for the effective delivery of policy. The government therefore does not comment on the conduct or effectiveness of monetary policy.

Schools: Energy

Catherine West: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide additional financial assistance to primary and secondary schools to cover increased gas and electric costs once the Ofgem energy cap rises in April 2022.

Catherine West: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide additional financial assistance to nurseries and early years education centres to cover the increased gas and electric costs when the Ofgem energy cap is due to increase in April 2022.

Catherine West: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide additional financial assistance to charitable organisations, registered with the Charity Commission, to cover the increased gas and electric costs when the Ofgem energy cap is due to increase from April 2022.

Catherine West: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide additional financial assistance to hospital and GP practices to cover the increased gas and electric costs once the Ofgem energy cap rises in April 2022.

Helen Whately: The Energy Price Cap is set by the independent regulator, Ofgem, and only applies to consumer bills rather than businesses and public services. There is existing Government funding in place to support public services. The Government spent around £3.6bn in 2020-21 in early education entitlements and the government continues to support families with their childcare costs. At Spending Review 2021, the Chancellor announced an uplift of £170 million by 2024-25 to increase the hourly rate paid by providers to deliver the government’s free hours offers. This builds on the £44 million increase at SR20. Eligible nurseries may also qualify for nurseries discount as part of the governments Business Rates Relief, if the business is on Ofsted’s Early Years Register and the premises is wholly or mainly used to provide the Early Years Foundation Stage of education. Further detail on this can be found here: Business rates relief: Nurseries discount - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Overall, core schools funding is increasing by £4 billion in 2022-23 – a 5% increase in real terms per pupil from 2021-22. The NHS is the Government's key spending priority and that is why it has committed to a historic settlement that provides a cash increase of £33.9 billion a year by 2023-24. This takes the NHS budget from £114.6 billion in 2018-19 to over £160 billion in 2024-25. The Government has made significant additional investments in the health and care system to respond to COVID-19. For 2021-22 the Government has so far approved £34 billion for frontline health services, including £15 billion of day-to-day funding for the NHS. The Government provided an unprecedented multi-billion-pound package of support for Britain's charities during the pandemic, including £750 million of dedicated funding that has helped more than 15,000 organisations across the country respond to the impact of Covid-19.

Pay

Beth Winter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Report of 3 February 2022, that pay has risen by less than prices, such that households real incomes are being squeezed.

Beth Winter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Report of 3 February 2022, that real post-tax labour income will fall by 2 per cent in 2022.

Beth Winter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Bank of England Monetary Policy Report of 3 February 2022 projection of a 7.25 per cent inflation rate in April, what steps he is taking to prevent a fall in real incomes.

Beth Winter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of the Resolution Foundation of 3 February 2022 that there will be an average fall in real household disposable incomes of around £1,000 per household in 2022.

John Glen: We understand that inflation, if higher than income growth, can reduce households’ real income, and that higher prices can increase the cost of living for people and households. The government is providing support worth around £12 billion this financial year and next to help families with the cost of living. Much of the support in place that will help ease these pressures is UK-wide, for example the increase to the National Living Wage, the change to the Universal Credit taper rate and increase to the Work Allowance, as well as freezes to alcohol duty and fuel duty. In addition, the government has announced a package of support to help households with rising energy bills, worth £9.1 billion in 2022-23. The government’s Plan for Jobs is also helping people into work and giving them the skills they need to progress – the best approach to managing the cost of living in the long term.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Streaming

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for its policies of OFCOM's recommendation in July 2021 that the accessibility of on-demand services should become a legal requirement.

Julia Lopez: The Government recognises that as part of a digitally inclusive society, television content should be accessible for all UK audiences regardless of which platform is used to view that content. As viewing habits continue to shift from linear to on demand, the Government is committed to seeing an improvement in the provision of access services for video-on-demand (VoD).The Government is giving careful consideration to Ofcom’s latest recommendations on how accessibility requirements can be extended to on demand services and will set out next steps in due course.

IAB Europe

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the recent Belgian Court ruling that IAB Europe’s consent popups are unlawful.

Julia Lopez: IAB Europe’s Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF) is a consent management mechanism used by websites and apps to manage users' preferences around online advertising, including through cookie pop-ups. It aims to communicate an individual's preferences between online services and other participants within the advertising supply chain.The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) published an Opinion in November 2021 that set out clear data protection standards that companies must meet when developing online advertising technologies in order to safeguard people’s privacy. The Opinion noted at paragraph 3.6.1 that to be compliant with the UK’s data protection and privacy legislation, the TCF needed to do more to ensure transparency, fair processing and free and informed consent. The ICO will be assessing the implications for UK companies of the Belgian Court’s ruling in the coming weeks. The ICO’s full Opinion can be viewed here.Separately, the government has been exploring through the public consultation, Data; A New Direction, whether innovative technologies, such as browser-based solutions, can be designed in a legally-compliant way to help web users manage their consent preferences on the internet. The consultation closed on 19 November 2021 and the government’s response will be published later this year. The consultation paper can be viewed here.

Audio Content Fund

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to continue the £1 million-a-year of support it provides to the Audio Content Fund as part of the Government’s creative industries investment programme.

Julia Lopez: The three-year pilot phase of the Audio Content Fund is due to end in March 2022. There will be a full evaluation of the pilot to determine its impact on the provision and plurality of public service content on commercial and community radio, and any future action in this area will be informed by that evaluation.The Government is committed to ensuring that audiences benefit from a modern system of public service broadcasting that remains relevant and can continue to meet the needs of UK audiences in the future. The potential of further investment of public funding will be assessed against the Fund evaluation and alongside future public service broadcasting needs.

Broadband: Rutland and Melton

Alicia Kearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what her timetable is for commencing the rollout of gigabit broadband in Rutland and Melton constituency.

Julia Lopez: Commercial delivery of gigabit broadband is extending rapidly and according to the independent website www.thinkbroadband.com over 35% of premises in the Rutland and Melton constituency now have access to gigabit broadband. Approximately 95% have access to superfast broadband with speeds of at least 30 Mbps.Alongside further commercial roll-out of gigabit broadband, premises in Rutland and Melton which are not within the scope of commercial coverage will be eligible for support through the £210 million Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS) or through Project Gigabit procurements.The Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme provides a micro-grant of up to £1,500 for residents and up to £3,500 for businesses towards the cost of installing gigabit-capable broadband. It enables households and businesses to club together to increase the total subsidy of a project to cover most, or all, of the costs for installation to eligible areas. Further information on the scheme is available on the GBVS website.Premises within the constituency of Rutland and Melton are covered by three separate Project Gigabit procurement processes:Most of the constituency falls within Lot 11 which covers Leicestershire and Warwickshire, with some further premises in Lot 10 which focuses on Nottinghamshire and the West of Lincolnshire. These areas are both anticipated to commence procurement between November 2022 and January 2023, before an estimated contract start date of between October 2023 and December 2023.Most of the remaining premises are covered by Lot 5 which covers Cambridgeshire and adjacent areas. This area is currently in procurement with an estimated contract start date of between November and December this year.A small number of premises are included within Lot 23 which is focused on Lincolnshire and East Riding. This procurement is targeted to commence between May and July 2023, before an estimated contract start date of between April and June 2024.

Smart Devices

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to include provisions for when a smart product is recalled within the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill.

Julia Lopez: The Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill includes provisions that allow the Secretary of State to issue recall notices relating to relevant insecure consumer connected products, if deemed appropriate.

Smart Devices: Electronic Commerce

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether smart products sold on online marketplaces will be subject to the provisions of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill.

Julia Lopez: Security requirements to be set out using the powers in the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill will have to be complied with relation to all relevant consumer connectable products sold to customers in the UK, including those sold on online marketplaces.

Broadcasting: Visual Impairment

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with disability charities on improving audio description services.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to improve audio description services among broadcasters.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will make an assessment of the effectiveness of Ofcom in ensuring that broadcasters (a) meet minimum targets for audio description of programmes and (b) take effective steps to publicise awareness of their audio description services.

Julia Lopez: As part of promoting a digitally inclusive society, the department engages with a range of stakeholders including disability charities, broadcasters, and Ofcom to support improving accessibility requirements in DCMS sectors.In broadcasting, Ofcom is responsible for enforcing statutory targets for the provision of access services, including audio description, for broadcasters’ linear TV services. These targets are set out in Ofcom’s Code on Television Access Services. In their most recent report on Access services, Ofcom found that in the first half of 2021 channels continued to meet or exceed their requirements to provide access services. Ofcom’s Code also makes clear that Ofcom requires broadcasters to make potential users aware of the available audio description through electronic programme guides, on-air announcements and information in relevant publications.In addition to the statutory targets for audio description on linear TV services, the government is giving careful consideration to the improvement of audio description services. In particular we are evaluating Ofcom’s recommendations on how accessibility requirements can be extended to on demand services.

Charities: Lotteries

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions his Department has held with charity lottery operators on the positive impacts of the charity lottery reforms which came into effect in July 2020.

Chris Philp: The Government legislated to increase society lottery sales and prize limits in March 2020, and these reforms came into effect in July 2020. The changes were:to increase the individual per draw sales limit from £4 million to £5 million;to increase the individual per draw prize limit from £400,000 to £500,000 (retaining the rule that the maximum prize is the greater of £25,000 or 10% of proceeds);to increase the annual sales limit from £10 million to £50 million.The aim of these changes was to allow both society lotteries and the National Lottery to thrive, by enabling society lotteries to continue to grow, whilst ensuring the unique position of the National Lottery is maintained.We are currently reviewing the impact of these changes, and have engaged with a range of stakeholders, including society lotteries, to gain an understanding of how they have benefited from the new limits.

Greyhound Racing: Taxation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits for greyhound racing of introducing a mandatory levy on races on a similar basis to horse-racing.

Chris Philp: Since 2021, every member of the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) who offers bets on greyhound racing has contributed to the British Racing Greyhound Fund. The BGC represents approximately 90% of the UK’s licensed betting and gaming businesses. In the financial year 2020-21, £6.75m was collected from bookmakers' voluntary contributions.The Government has no current plans to introduce a mandatory levy and will continue to encourage any remaining bookmakers that have not signed up to the voluntary arrangements to follow suit. We expect both the betting and the greyhound racing sectors to make sure that greyhound welfare is safeguarded and remains at the heart of the sport.

Internet: Fraud

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on tackling online scams and fraud in Newport West constituency.

Chris Philp: Ministers have regular meetings and discussions with their ministerial colleagues on a range of issues, including tackling online scams and fraud. Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the GOV.UK website.

Prime Minister

Fraud: Legislation

Jill Mortimer: To ask the Prime Minister, with reference to his oral contribution of 2 February 2022, Official Report, col 276, what plans he has for an economic crime bill.

Boris Johnson: Further to my oral statement on Monday 31 January (column 46), crime, excluding fraud and computer misuse, is down by 17% since June 2019 according to the latest official statistics. That is why we are also determined to tackle the threat of fraud and economic crime. Action we have already taken includes: publishing a landmark Economic Crime Plan; creating a new National Economic Crime Centre; introducing new powers for law enforcement, such as unexplained wealth orders; committing £400 million over the next three years to crack down on economic crime; implementing a public register of overseas beneficial company ownership - the first major economy in the world to do so; and committing to a register of overseas beneficial property ownership – the first country in the world to do so. And, as I said, we are committed to bringing forward an Economic Crime Bill.